The Wonderful World of FairyTail
by Seriphia
Summary: Falling down the rabbit hole huh? And all this time Lucy had thought that simply a figure of speech. Follow her descent into madness in the wonderful world of FairyTail! AU NaLu, GaLe, GruVia and perhaps others. We'll see where this journey takes us!
1. Chapter 1

**Rated M  
** **M is for MATURE, people.  
** **If I can pretend to be, then you can too!**

 **DISCLAIMER : I OWN NOTHING! *sob* However sometimes I wonder if Mashima-sama used to follow me and my friends around to help him dream up a few of his characters!**

 **At least let a girl dream!**

 **Welcome to my side project! I am just NUTS about all things Cheshire and Mad Hatter, so this story has just been bursting to get out. I am rating it M, but that is simply so make sure I have the freedom to take this story where ever I want. I really don't know if there will be lemons... but knowing me... probably. XD**

 **Oh! And you can get a better look at that coverart on my Deviant:**

 **seriphia-kiwi(x)deviant  
** **art(x)com**

 **AAAAAND, for those who do not know me, I do a lil something extra at the bottom of each chapter if the reviewers reach my lucky number thirteen... since well, I freakin LUV hearing from my delightfully lickable readers.**

 **So sit back and relax with this AU: _The Wonderful World of FairyTail!_**

* * *

A Little White Bunny?

A sigh escaped the girl's lips as she rested a pale cheek into her hand as her eyes drifted out the window to watch the freedom of a beautiful butterfly using its time to conquer the wind. She was so tired of these home school lessons, but then again, she supposed everyone would be this close to graduation. But really, these remaining sessions were just for tradition's sake. Her diploma was already hanging in her father's study for crying out loud.

There was no reason on God's green earth that she shouldn't be able to enjoy her day out in the sun like that lovely butterfly.

"Miss Heartfillia!"

Blonde hair swung over her shoulder as her head snapped back to her private instructor. "Oh, I'm so sorry Mistress Ooba, I was just—"

"You were staring out the window again, feeling sorry for yourself! I know exactly what you were doing. I have half a mind to take you for a spin!"

"Oh, no no, uh, Mistress Ooba!" She sweatdropped nervously, "I will try to focus!"

Her teacher sighed and placed her hands behind her back, "Lucy. I understand that you do not want to be here, but as the only daughter and remaining summoner of the Heartfillia family, there are still many things you must learn! Now pay attention."

Lucy withheld another sigh as the instructor continued.

At least... until something else caught her eye from out the window.

The first time, she thought it was her imagination—it had to have been something else that had scampered through the yard. The mistress was always saying she had quite the intense imagination. Even during her lessons, she would doodle strange and distorted pictures of flowers and mushrooms. Hell, one of her most prized pictures was this sketch an obscure tea set she'd designed herself. It would never actually function as a tea set should, but she prized the picture nonetheless. One day she'd paint it onto a canvas and hang it on the same wall that held the painting of her dear late mother.

Lucy started to draw what she'd thought she'd seen, starting with the huge smile (A smiling cat? It had to have been her imagination!) as Mistress Ooba prattled on what was proper conduct for a lady. She always felt it necessary to wrap up their daily studies with a refreshing on etiquette. Then it happened again. A flash of blue much faster than before, to stop right in the middle of the yard, giggling as the butterfly... played with him? How could a butterfly tickle a cat? And for that matter, why did a cat look like it had white bunny ears? The blonde's eyes widened as it got up to pounce the butterfly, and their game began to edge on the border of the gate. Wait!

Unaware of her actions, Lucy stood up so abruptly that her chair crashed backwards, startling her teacher from the blackboard.

"Oh, Miss Heartfillia! You scared the daylight out of me! What on earth are you—"

"There! Mistress Ooba! It's—" Lucy frowned and nibbled her lips. The odd cat had slipped under the gate. She turned back to the instructor, eyeing her with much disapproval. "I um... I've got to go!"

She didn't wait for Mistress Ooba to counter her, she fled her father's mansion's classroom fast enough to only hear her call out, "Miss Heartfillia! Class still has twenty minutes!"

Lucy lifted up the large blue skirt and petticoats underneath as she ran, knowing that her father would skin her alive if she sweated in the new corset he'd given her for graduation. The blue plaid thing was horribly uncomfortable, though, and she was trying to wear it in before the big day.

...So she could sweat in it if she wanted.

She raced through the halls and wound down the spiraling stairs to burst through the front doors. She huffed as she scanned the yard, but the odd cat was no where to be seen. By now it could be anywhere! Feeling determined to confirm that she was not hallucinating, Lucy narrowed her eyes and left through the main gate and rounded it closer to where she'd seen the bunny/cat go. Her fists were clenched tightly into her skirts in the very way her teacher would chastise her for—wouldn't want wrinkles—as she scanned the green field for the creature. Her head swung to the right when she heard giggling. It sounded like a small child, but there should not be any children around here.

Lucy ran in the direction of the laughter and frowned when a thicket barred her way. That thing wasn't about to stop her! She scooped up her skirts and crawled through a part that was partially raised by a large tree root. Her head popped out the other side with the giggling going full force, but it stopped just as soon as the cat saw her. Yep. That was definitely a cat—only wearing bunny ears... for some crazy reason. The cat yelped when it saw her and scurried away.

"Wait!" Lucy called out, making the poor choice of reaching out an entreating hand that caused her to fall in her haste to get up and go after it. Recuperating quickly, Lucy pulled herself to her feet and sprinted after it. "Please wait!"

The cat was rounding corners and ducking under branches that Lucy was forced to jump over like hurdles. If the chase hadn't had her in constant fear of loosing the animal, she very well might have taken a moment to give her agility a pat on the back. Perhaps all those dancing classes were finally paying off?

She was very surprised when the cat turned back at her, gasped in horror, and dived into a rabbit hole. Lucy stopped and tilted her head, confused, and slowly walked towards the hole. "Silly kitty! You're not _really_ a rabbit!" A giggle escaped her as she knelt down to peer into the hole. "I'm not gonna hurt you. I think some mean soul placed ears from an old costume on you... could I perhaps help take them off?"

A brow raised when she heard her own voice bounce back at her. Exactly how deep was this hole? Curiosity striking again, Lucy leaned forward—only to squeal when something bumped her bottom and she went careening into a hole FAR larger than she'd anticipated.

Lucy's fall took forever. Surely she was reaching the core of the earth! Her mother had always said her curiosity would be the end of her. Even in heaven, her mother was up there telling her, "I told you so."

Life just wasn't fair.

Then, as if chasing a cat, wannabe bunny, into a hole in the ground wasn't bad enough, as she fell... she began to slow—which went against every law of physics that she'd ever learned. Although, she had to admit, being a scientific anomaly was certainly better than becoming a splotch in the middle of the earth.

As her descent slowed, her slippers lightly landed onto a tiled floor. Tiles? Yes, tiles. Perhaps it was possible that she died before the fall was over? No way on earth would there be tiles flooring what appeared to be a cavern deep within the earth. She was puzzling over the idea when once again she caught a fleeting glance of the cat that had dragged her into this mess.

"Oh no! I'm late!" And the cat raced into a door just the right size for him—but far too small for her.

Well... maybe not. Lucy went to the door and inspected it. If she could fit her shoulders in, then perhaps...

"You'll never get in there like that!" Came a giggling voice behind her.

Lucy squealed and turned around only to gape at the owner of the voice. It was the blue butterfly! Wait no...

That's impossible. The wings looked similar, but this was clearly a girl, a butterfly sized... girl.

 _Yea... the fall killed me. I'm dead. At least I won't have to sit through another one of Mistress Ooba's classes. See? Bright side to everything!_

The girl had long blue ponytails that matched the blue shade of her wings perfectly, and looked very youthful, twelve at best. Lucy tilted her head, failing to register what was right in front of her, and the fairy mirrored this action.

"You're a..."

"I'm the one who pushed you down into the rabbit hole!"

" _WHAT?!"_

"Hehe, Yeah... you should have seen your face!"

Lucy deadpanned at the small girl, "You know a fall like that could have killed me... right?"

The butterfly, fairy, whatever, widened her eyes and flitted about the blonde. "Oh my gosh! You could have died? Seriously?! No one has before, I guess there could definitely be a chance that one could!"

Lucy yelped when the tiny creature got lost under her many skirts. "Hey! Just what do ya think you're doing down there!?"

The blunette flitted out from the other side of her skirts and sighed in relief, "Thank goodness you're okay. Whew! Anyways, if ya wanna follow the white rabbit, you're probably gonna have to take a sip of that bottle over there."

"The... White, Rabbit...?" Did this kid really just call that blue cat a white rabbit?

The fairy giggled again, "Yup. You sure are weird, not knowing a white rabbit when you see one."

"HEY!" Lucy frowned, "I'm not the crazy one here!"

"What's your name lady?"

Lucy suddenly recalled all her lessons in etiquette and yelped again, "Eep! Oops! I'm so sorry! I'm, Lucy, Lucy Heartfillia."

"Hmm..." The girl thought it over, as if someone should really think about whether someone else's name should meet their approval. "Has an alright ring to it, but you should really just introduce yourself as Lucy, unless you want to be affiliated with the red queen."

"Huh?"

"Anyway, you should drink that." The girl once again motioned to the tiny bottle.

Lucy shook her head. So the tiny fairy wasn't going to introduce herself? How horribly rude! Silently telling herself that she shouldn't judge, she frowned at the tiny bottle. "Are you kidding? Like I'm gonna drink something that a little bug tells me to drink after confessing that _she's_ the one who pushed me into this hole!"

"Awwww! I'm not a bug!" The girl groaned, unsuccessfully trying to hold back tears. "I'm Wendy, the daughter of the wise Blue Caterpillar, and I just wanted someone to play with!"

Now she's crying?! "Uh... S-sorry, uh, Wendy. We could always play... uh, later. But right now I gotta catch up with that blue cat."

"Blue cat...?"

 _Oh yea, she doesn't know her animals._ "The uh... white rabbit." _Or colors..._

The Wendy-bug smiled, "Oh yea! So drink up!"

"Uhhhh..." There was no chance she was going to drink whatever was in that thing, sitting on a tiny table, next to the small knee-high door. Though her curiosity was hitting her full force again, so she walked over and picked up the bottle lightly, careful not to break the tiny thing. It was about the size of her index finger and she gawked at the label.

DRINK ME

"Seriously...?"

The Wendy-bug drifted by her head, "See? Totally legit!"

 _Sure kid..._

An innocent smile took over Lucy's expression as she dropped the bottle, "Whoopsie!"

" _EEEK!"_ The Wendy-bug screamed as the bottle fell onto the tiled floor and shattered against the red and white. She flitted all around the shards, hopelessly trying to piece them back together. Then the blunette looked up to see the girl shoving herself through the small doorway. "Hey! No no! You're supposed to DRINK, _then_ pass through!"

 _Uh oh..._ So Lucy managed to get her shoulders through, but her hips were stuck! Lucy groaned and called back to the fairy, "Well you're the expert on pushing! So shut up and push me through!" Oh my but this place was a bad place for this young woman to continue her studies as a lady.

"Oh... Oh-okay." With that, two miniature hands were placed on the summoner's rear and pushed.

The wood grated against her hips and Lucy cried out in discomfort, "Erk, Hey, ACK! I changed my mind, I don't wanna go after that stupid cat! Waaah!"

The fairy managed to push her through and send her rolling all the way into another, larger closed door.

Lucy's legs were bent over her head and it'd be a lie if it were said that her eyes remained dry. "...Ouch."

Again, the Wendy-bug drifted to her, this time with a soft smile on her face. "Toldja ya should have drunk it. I'm a dragon, we know these sorts of things."

Lucy righted herself very quickly at that rubbish and yelled at the fairy, "You are _not!_ You said it yourself! You're the daughter of a caterpillar!"

"Geez... and they say your kind tells people they can be whatever they wanna be when they grow up..."

Lucy groaned and began dusting off her corset and skirt.

"Now," the fairy grinned, "have you learned your lesson? Cuz now you're supposed to eat the cake!"

The blonde frowned at the cavern, identical to the other, except this time it had a normal sized table with a piece of delicious looking cake on it. It too had a tag on it, this one reading:

EAT ME

"Hmmmm..." Maybe there was some sort of Mason theme to this place. Lucy smiled and waved to the Wendy-bug, placing her hand on the normal sized doorknob. "Nyah, I'm good. See ya!"

"Hey! But we were going to play!"

Lucy was feeling pretty slick, not letting the freaky little butterfly drug her as she passed through the door.

...Then found herself gawking for another reason.

This place was beautiful! The flowers were green and the grass was purple, and the tiled floor continued much like a sidewalk through it all. "Wooooooow..."

Yup. That fall had killed her, and this was her subconscious making some sort of reason for her demise.  
 _Guess I used most of my imagination up already, because this crap is just nuts!_

No where to go but forward right? Going back would just return her to the 'dragon' and her roofies, so... forward it is!

As she walked, Lucy couldn't help but notice that either the plants were getting bigger, or she was getting smaller. Maybe staying on the path wasn't such a good idea? Natural stubbornness bore her feet to continue on, but perhaps she could have thought things through a bit more... because now the purple grass was so big that it towered over her like trees. Lucy groaned, and sat down on the path under one of the flower pedals high above her. All that running, and now just a lonely walk?

"This sucks."

A voice suddenly spoke right into her ear, "The only thing that sucks around here is a poorly mixed tea." Lucy jumped up and twirled around (there might even have been a _tiny_ scream) but... nothing was there. Granted, the summoner was sure she was tightly wound, but she knew there had been someone speaking, and very close to her no doubt.

So, feeling like a complete rube, she asked the open air, "Who's there!?"

Then, behind her, came a chuckle. Lucy twirled around again but saw nothing. "Alright, this is _not_ cool, show yourself!"

That was when she saw something resembling a sideways crescent moon atop what appeared to be a drooping green daisy. She squinted her eyes at it, for only a daft soul would believe it to actually be the moon. It had been daylight before all this... foliage blocked out the sun. Then she screamed for real, for around the floating shape, a face appeared, followed by the body of a sultry brunette lazing on the pedals. The oddest part was, was that until she was completely visible, her form was pink with purple stripes. Those faded last to reveal her smiling down at the blonde like she knew one too many secrets.

Lucy squinted her eyes, "Who are you?"

"Who are you?"

Repressing a growl, Lucy replied, "I asked you first."

"Aye, heh, and I asked you last."

The woman laughed and rolled onto her back, hanging her head down off the petal with that same, suddenly infuriating smile. "I do believe you have become lost! Isn't being lost _wonderful?_ "

"Lost?" Lucy frowned, "I'm not lost, I've been following the..." When she turned her head to the ground, the red and white tiles were fading, right before her eyes. "No! No no no no!" Lucy began running after the many disappearing tiles, only to fall to her knees when nothing but dirt and shrubbery remained. "Oh no..."

Then there was something fuzzy rubbing against her cheek, wiping her tears away before they fell. "Do not be sad, little human child." The aforementioned fuzzy object had been the pink and purple tail of what was apparently a cat woman. She curled around Lucy much like the affectionate house cat and spoke into the ear opposite the one her tail was against. "One often finds what they do not realize they are looking for when they are lost."

Lucy harrumphed, moving to shake the woman off, but the creature simply drifted with her. "I know _exactly_ what I was looking for, thank you very much. I was looking for a blue cat that seems to like to pretend that he's a bunny."

The brunette behind her snickered, "Oh, come now, you must be crazy if you think there is such a thing as a blue cat!"

This coming from what seemed to be a pink and purple neko-girl? Lucy groaned, where was she supposed to go now?! She couldn't even tell which way was north.

Then a long, pale arm reached over her shoulder, pointing to a direction where a path of only red tiles were manifesting. "I do believe that is the path for you, little human girl. Take care not to bother the flowers." The woman began to pull away from her, but then stopped, and chuckled, "Oh! And try to keep that pretty little head of yours... intact."

 _Keep my... head?  
_ The woman was disappearing, making it appear as though her smile was glowing. "Wait! Who are you, please!"

"Ha, ha, oh you'll see more of me." Her voice began to echo all around her as the woman completed her invisibility, "I am Cana, the Cheshire Cat. We'll meet for tea soon!"

Lucy groaned, "Ugh!"  
 _What now?  
..._

With nothing else to do, she started stomping down the red tiled path—before this thing goes and disappears on her too. This is crazy! First it was just a cat wearing bunny ears, sure, that's believable... but then the fall that defied gravity, leading to some butterfly person that called herself a dragon? And then a PINK cat saying there was no BLUE cat?!

Her walk eventually led her to what looked like a carefully cultivated garden. A garden that actually had _normal_ butterflies (she hoped) fluttering about them. Not to mention that the colors had righted themselves at some point. The garden was filled with the most beautiful white roses, carefully guarded with a well trimmed hedge. That Cana Cat had mentioned not to bother the flowers, but, smelling them wasn't bothering them right?

Lucy bent over the hedge to take a refreshing inhalation of roses.

That was when her eyes bugged out and pulled away, grasping her nose from the itch that came from sniffing paint. "Ugggg! Why to they smell like... What's the _deal_ with this place!?"

Again, she started when off in the distance she heard a booming voice crying out, " _What is this!? Fan out! Search every inch!_ Find the culprit and bring me his head!"

"Oh man... That can't be good!" Lucy began taking a few hesitant steps back, becoming concerned with leaving the path. She could hear many, many footsteps trampling all about the place, but could see nothing—yet.

 _What do I do!?_

Suddenly, a man in a rather unique top hat with pink spikes poking out from under it burst out of the rose bushes next to her, laughing like a mad man. With one hand holding his hat in place, the other snagged her wrist and pulled her with him, away from the path.

"AHHHHH! Release me at once!"

"Hahaha! It ain't my style to leave someone behind to take the fall. Besides, I needed a plus one! HAHAHAHA! Better keep moving!"

Was she being kidnapped, or saved? It was far too hard to tell, trying to keep her footing at the pace this mad man was setting.

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 **Lemme know what you think!**

 _ **Seriphia  
**_ **aka  
** _ **Lick**_

 ***~.❤.~***


	2. Chapter 2

**Rated M  
** **M is for MATURE, people.  
** **If I can pretend to be, then you can too!**

 **DISCLAIMER : I OWN NOTHING! *sob* However sometimes I wonder if Mashima-sama used to follow me and my friends around to help him dream up a few of his characters!**

 **At least let a girl dream!**

 **Eight comments after only one chapter! Wooow guys, you're awesome. :D  
** **I lick your faces cuz I want to and I'm super good at catching you when you least expect it!  
** ***lick lick lick!***

 _ **Don't forget the special treats that await with 13+ reviews!**_

* * *

No Party like a Mad Party

Lucy was becoming more and more convinced that this was indeed a kidnapping the longer this crazy man pulled her along. The path she'd been so careful to follow was now but a memory and she was once again completely lost.

And what did she have to show for it? A deranged man that gained speed with every cackle. Her protests for him to unhand her had fallen on deaf ears.

There comes a time when every good kidnapping must come to an end however, and once Lucy was too exhausted to take even one more step she tumbled to the ground, wheezing for air. The only good thing that came from her lack of ability to continue standing was that the scoundrel had finally released his hold.

In the blonde's effort to catch her breath, she did not take the time to notice that the two of them now stood in a large area with rising and sloping hills covered in lush green grass as far as the eye could see. Neither did the girl watch the pink haired man keep walking until he was at the very peek of the hill she now rested on to take a look farther out. No, Lucy was busying herself drinking in the sweet air her lungs craved and staring at her lap while clutching her sides.

Once she was able to breath slightly more comfortably, her eyes glanced up with alarm at the setting sun. She'd been in this place all day? Surely not. Her father was going to be furious with her! Deciding it best that she sneak away from the mad man and try to get home instead of letting her curiosity get the best of her again and wait to see what he does next... Lucy began to lift herself up to make her way in the opposite direction as him.

Until her turned head and slightly raised torso met with her nose bumping into her obtrusive kidnapper's. Honestly! What sort of person comes back down a hill just to lord over a lady by bending over so that their faces touch the moment said lady moves? Her eyes widened under the golden gaze of this madman. All of her vision was consumed by him and she was suddenly filled with embarrassment. Lucy had never, ever been so close to a man before, and this man was looking into her eyes as though he could see right through them as he personally explored every subconscious thought she didn't know she had swimming around up there.

Lucy sat, frozen to her spot as his eyes changed their shape ever so slightly as he spoke. His breath danced across her face and quickened the weary pace of her blood. "What is the difference between Tweedle Dee's birthday, and Tweedle Dum's?"

She was quickly loosing the ability to breath again, for breathing in this man's scent had to be sinful, "Wha, what?"

Then the man with the mesmerizing golden gaze lowered to his knees, hovering over her curled legs while he placed strong, warm hands on her shoulders. All the while never breaking the penetrating eye lock he held her captive in, "Hmm. How did the butterfly change into a dragon?"

Lucy's mouth hung slack in an attempt to answer his strange questions, but without an answer to give, she ended just holding her mouth agape for no reason.

"Hmm. Exactly what kinda treasure did I snatch up in my escape from the red queen's wrath, I wonder?"

As his body stayed perfectly still, the man brought one hand from her shoulder to cup her chin with his thumb stroking the skin just under her lips. The heat she grew on her cheeks from his gesture only served to encourage him as he leaned closer and took a deep inhalation of her scent, finally closing his eyes. "It's almost like I've known this smell my entire life."

If a sound escaped the blonde's mouth, it was utterly indiscernible. It felt as though the heat emanating from this man with the smoldering eyes was melting every shred of logic she had.

...That is, until he pressed his open mouth against hers.

As she felt a searing hot tongue drag across hers in a rather intriguing and exploratory manner, all of Lucy's training in etiquette and proper decorum came rushing back to her—despite the small voice (extremely small, and currently being smashed into oblivion) begging to let it be. The girl pulled away and found the strength within to high kick the creep away from her. Now back on her bone-weary feet, Lucy struggled to hush the sudden and unwelcome feelings stirring inside her, such thoughts are not to be imagined by a lady. "How dare you! First you steal me from my path and then you do something so... so..." Words escaped her.

The man's hat flew from his head as he fell to the ground, many feet from her. The girl packed a wallop! As he sat up and rubbed his head with a wince, Lucy raised a curious brow at the pink spikes that his hat had hid. His hair was quite a breath of fresh air compared to the boys of her world who always insisted on primping and preening even more than the women. He looked back to her with one eye still closed in his wince as another broad grin grew, "There's a chance you might fit in pretty well around here, miss."

Lucy scoffed, her heart was beating so fast that it might snap any moment and _that_ was all he had to say? " _Fit in?_ I don't want to fit in! I want to go home!"

The man's grin simmered down to a handsome smile as he leapt back to his feet. "Home! Yea! That's a great idea! After all, I do still need that plus one!" As he took a step closer, Lucy was quick to take a step back. The madman laughed at her skittishness and swept an arm to the ground, reclaiming his hat. After a meticulous examination of the hat's well-being, he set it back onto his head and did what he should have done when meeting a lady for the first time.

After straightening the peculiar black... not/suit that only had a single sleeve, he used one smooth motion to take the hat back off his head, circling his arm to rest on his chest as he bowed while his other hand stayed behind his back. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Natsu Dragneel, also known as the Mad Hatter." His eyes lifted up to look into hers again, and Lucy took an involuntary step back. He tilted his head at her retreat and said, "I think apologies are in order."

 _Oh!_ Lucy thought to herself with a brow twitching, _maybe he does know at least something of being a gentleman..._ "...Yes well, don't do anything like that again. I am a lady, not some strumpet."

This Natsu character raised a brow of his own as he stood back up to his full height. "Wait, you think I... no, no. I'm waitin' for you to apologize. No lady should smell as good as you do. Leads upstanding gentlemen like myself to do things they oughta not do."

"Uh... _excuse me?"_ If she could just find one sensible person to help her get out of this insane place, then, somehow, everything would be alright.

"Hmm." The Mad Hatter frowned, "I suppose that'll do for now." Then with a dashing and confident smile, he suddenly held his index finger up into the air dramatically, "but I cannot promise it won't happen again!"

Lucy sighed and spoke to herself in a whine, "I knew I shouldn't have shirked Father's advice about carrying the pepper spray."

"Pepper?" The man grinned, "oh there's lots of pepper where we're going. Maybe that'll help with that delightful stink you're flaunting." Before she knew it, Natsu was right next to her, offering his arm to her just as a gentleman would. "Mustn't keep our guests waiting."

The spirit summoner narrowed her eyes at the man _pretending_ to be a gentleman. He'd already shown his true colors as a deviant—with a surprisingly pleasant taste of his own.  
 _Nope. Not thinking about that, cut it out!_

She was about to blow him off with the classic, 'take a hike,' but something on his hat caught her eye. In her surprise, she gasped as she identified the half obscured card tucked into the strap that was wrapped about his hat. It had the picture of the very blue cat she'd followed down here! "Wait just a second! That's—"

"No time to wait, my succulent plus one!" The Mad Hatter quickly placed her hand on his arm for her and continued their walk, uphill then down hill.

"Hey! But the blue cat on your hat, it's—"

"Shhh!" Natsu pulled her down as he squatted at the foot of the next hill and waited as if they hid behind something that was not there.

Lucy frowned at the odd person who had them low in the grass of an open valley. "Just what do you think you're—"

As she pulled away, his warm hand came to rest on hers again, urging her to stay put. The golden pupils of his eyes were small as he stared out into the valley, "Just watch."

Lucy's eyes were tugged back down to his hand resting over hers. It was big enough to engulf all of her fingers and rob her of her breaths again. What was it about this man? He was clearly insane and she should not be anywhere near him.  
 _So why aren't I running away? Is it really because he saved me from who ever was yelling in the garden? No... no, he'd kidnapped me! Well... maybe._

Besides. What else did she have to do now that she'd once again lost her path? At least this Natsu Dragneel had proof of the cat's existence, and to her knowledge, that cat was the only creature that could go between this insanity and the real world. They must be terribly worried about her by now.

It wasn't the setting sun retreating under the horizon that brought her out of her own thoughts, nor was it the madman contently holding her hand in place on the arm that clearly had impressive muscles hidden beneath. It was the trees that suddenly manifested right before her eyes in the middle of the valley. Such beautiful willows with red leaves and white blossoms drooping so low that they curtained around their pale brown trunks. Each petite blossom had a tiny glow right in the middle that created an impressive ambient light. A rather romantic atmosphere, actually, here where she knelt down with a curtain trapping her in with a man that smelled of a rustic campfire boiling tea.

Lucy blushed anew at such an intimate setting, but Natsu simply patted her hand and raised to his feet. After he stretched happily, he glanced back down curiously at the girl still in the grass, looking back up at him. As if by magic, a merry melody began to play as he smiled at her, offering his hand again. "Come on."

Nothing could describe the way her adventurous side was overcoming her logic. Lucy was charmed by the way such a majestic setting had replaced the entire valley, and this man who had the audacity to kiss her the moment they'd met had known it would happen. She felt hell-bent on learning everything he knew, and took his hand with no more hesitation.

The man who called himself the Mad Hatter purred at the intrigue swimming in those lovely brown eyes and lifted her to her feet as politely as he could. Many times one of his partners in crime would remind him of his ungentlemanly behavior, but he'd never cared to follow the guidelines until now. He'd actually worried that he'd insulted her when she'd kicked him, and that was something he did not wish to do again.

With a dashing smile, he led her through the trees, parting many of the hanging branches for her until the two of them breached the willows and into a clearing where the music was coming from. To Lucy's surprise, there were no instruments. Only a long rectangular table with many chairs tucked under its pristine white table cloth. It had many brightly polished red dishes and tea cups littered on top of it, all jumbled in an unorganized fashion. Lucy muttered, "Oh my," when she noticed the only other person there—glaring at them with disapproval.

"You're late again, huh?" This man stood on the other side of the table, and appeared to have used up all of his humor long ago. His eyebrows were simply... not there, yet she could tell they would have been furrowed anyway as he glared at the smirking madman next to her, still holding her hand. Other than his hair (a long mane of spiky black that must have taken years of neglect to look so stiff), the man had no hair on his face whatsoever. Instead, he had three metal studs where each brow would be and two on both sides of the bridge of his nose. She'd never seen anything like it. There was even one on his chin! His facial hmm... piercings(?) were so uncanny, it took a moment before she realized that there were long brown ears sticking out of his hair—those were also lined with the metal studs. For someone wearing bunny ears... he certainly did not look friendly.

"Haha!" Barked the hatted man next to her, making her jump. "I don't see any guests here yet, so I think we might actually be early!"

The studded man's eyes then centered on her, causing Lucy to fidget, though it was awkward with the Mad Hatter still gripping one of her hands. In a low voice, the man muttered, "We huh? So you did snag a plus one this time."

"Heh," Natsu smirked again, pulling her closer to the table. "She's no mouse, but she'll do. Where is she, anyway?"

The other man just stood there frowning with his arms folded, "You ain't gonna introduce me to your date, Salamander?"

Lucy raised a brow, _Mouse?_ _Salamander?_

"Oh yeah!" Natsu released her hand and beckoned to the barrel full of fun at the other side of the table, "This is Gajeel Redfox, the March Hare, and a proud member of the Mad Tea Party. Gajeel, this is..." His charming smile faded to a neutral line as he began to move his hands to motion to her. "Hmm... what's your name again?"

A sweatdrop fell on Lucy's brow, "You never asked." _Sure, you went and kissed me already, but you NEVER asked my name..._

"Geez, Hatter, you really are hopeless. You actually bring someone and you don't even know who she is? Does she even drink tea?" Then it looked as though something else occurred to him and he barked, "Didja even finish the job?!"

Natsu turned back at him and scoffed his offense, "Of course I did! Those roses are whiter than the white queen's dress!"

Lucy blinked, _This guy painted those roses white? Why on EARTH would he do that?_

"They better be, I ain't lyin about it jest cuz you slacked off. Now, about this girl?"

Natsu narrowed his eyes at the bunny-man and Lucy yelped as he suddenly scooped her up into his arms, bridal style. He glared at his companion, holding her tightly in extremely warm arms as he said, "Don't you worry about her, she's mine. Go... play with your mouse!"

He then deposited her in a plushy chair sitting at the head of the table as Lucy called out at him, "I beg your pardon, Mr. Dragneel, but I am no one's!"

The Mad Hatter simply gave her another handsome smile and seated himself into the next chair sideways, kicking his sandal'ed feet onto the table (sending many red dishes jumping) as he leaned over with his head almost in her lap. His hat tumbled into her hand as his consuming gaze captured her again, "Finder's keepers, my dear, and this dragon does not give up treasure."

Lucy almost trembled. _Dragon? Treasure? That Wendy-bug called herself a dragon, and now this guy is too? I really, really need to get home..._

"Geheh!" The man titled the March Hare bellowed, "So the Mad Hatter has finally found something just for him. Well it's about damn time."

Lucy frowned and pushed Natsu away fiercely, "I am _not_ a thing, Sir Redfox! I am Lucy Heartfillia, Spirit Summoner and the only heir to the Heartfillia family."

One of the brown ears on Gajeel drooped as he frowned, "Heartfillia? Yo Salamander, didja go and bring a spy to our party?"

Natsu frowned, righting himself in his chair as he studied Lucy. He _had_ found her in the red queen's rose garden... Then as if his eyesight were poor, he stood and leaned over the table right into her face—much like he had right before he kissed her.

After what seemed like an eternity for the blonde (slowly reaching for a fork), the Mad Hatter shook his head and leaned back into his chair again and leisurely reached for a pitcher of tea. "No, she doesn't smell like the reds, so she ain't on their side. She's just Juicy. We'll forget that Heartfillia stuff."

Lucy frowned, "Lucy."

"Aye," Natsu smiled at her while reaching for a capped sugar bowl, "Juicy." He looked down to begin spooning sugar into his cup, but stopped after removing its lid. "Hmm, Ironeyes? Didja loose the Dormouse again?"

"Huh? What? Nah. She's just... out for a walk."

The Mad Hatter leveled his gaze on him while Lucy examined his hat up close. He hadn't asked for it back, so she was taking the opportunity to note the fine craftsmanship it was made from. Yet... he was using it as a pin cushion? _Yipes! Those pins are sharp!_

Natsu used his thumb and index finger to reach into the sugar bowl and pulled out a tiny blue and orange mouse from it. Lucy noticed and shrank back from it, deciding it might be best to _not_ eat or drink anything here if they were so lax on their cleanliness to allow rodents in their containers.

The mouse was snoring contently, even with Natsu holding it up by its tail, and Gajeel quickly ran over, cupping his hands together under it. When the hatless hatter dropped it into the March Hare's hands, the mouse squeaked and yawned, opening its large brown eyes. "What's goin on you guys? Has the party started yet?"

Natsu simply returned to putting a few spoonfuls of sugar into his tea as Gajeel smirked back to the tiny thing, "Mad Hatter finally brought someone with him."

Another squeak was heard from inside his large hands. "Really! Oh man! Are you serious!" The mouse about the size of Gajeel's thumb crawled out of his hands and scampered across the table and right onto the plate in front of Lucy and stood on its hindquarters, staring at her. "Wow."

A panicked grimace held Lucy completely still. There was a MOUSE on her plate! A dirty, disease-ridden rodent that had been NAPPING in the sugar bowl... and it talked!

Things around here would always go from odd to even more odd, so she really shouldn't have been as surprised as she was when the mouse suddenly grew to the size and shape of a human girl sitting cross-legged on the table in front of her. The only evidence of her previous mousy exterior were the two mouse ears crowning her blue haired head, one blue lined in orange, one orange lined with blue. She leaned forward and stared her brown eyes right into Lucy's with a bright smile. "She sure is pretty!"

Both the Mad Hatter and March Hare jumped at how close the girls were. Natsu used the excuse of retrieving his hat to get between them and Gajeel scooped up the blunette, quickly offering her some cheese if she'd come sit with him. All the while Lucy sat there, bewildered as to what had just happened. Natsu stared after Gajeel carrying the blunette back to the other side of the table with a possessive twitch to his brow for a moment before turning back to the blonde he'd captured. He smiled down to her and decided a gentleman should offer the lady a drink. "So..." he sat his hat back upon his pink spikes and motioned to the table. "What would you like to drink?"

Gajeel had just sat the not/mouse down into a chair when she squealed happily, "Aye! We've got everything!" Despite her now human form, she climbed back onto the table on all fours and crawled back across the table to sit in front of Lucy much to Gajeel grunt, who was now face planting himself on the table where he'd just seated himself.

Lucy noticed the mouse girl still had a tail waving behind her, displaying her excitement as she ticked off her fingers joyfully. "We have long island, Ugandan ginger, voodoo, hot toddy, gin goblin, Darjeeling... we can make anything!" Again, the dishes jumped as the slim girl leaned forward to bang her elbows on the table and leaned her head into her hands. "Pick your poison!"

Lucy was stuck staring at the over-sized rat tail swishing two and fro, so Natsu answered her with a wink, "Levy, just make her something sweet and fruity. She'll love it."

"Okay!" The girl squealed happily as she rolled off the table, swinging her legs into the air only to catch herself before she fell to the ground. Lucy noticed that the March Hare over on the other side of the table must have gotten quite the eye full from his expression as the girl the Mad Hatter had called Levy hummed to herself as she poured many different liquids into a large goblet. "Oh! Cheesecake!" the blunette turned to Gajeel with stars for eyes, "she needs cheesecake! Gaajie do we have any cheesecake?"

"Uh..." replied the bunny-man.

Lucy's attention was brought back to Natsu as he snickered. "That there is Levy McGarden, our Dormouse. Every proper tea party has one, but ours uses up so much energy that she sleeps most of the time."

"Sure..." Lucy agreed, turning back to watch the blunette dance, hop, and eventually crawl back onto the table in her search for cheesecake.

Just as Natsu sat back down at the table's corner next to her, kicking his feet up again, a familiar voice was heard chuckling near the table's middle.

Gajeel groaned as Natsu gagged on his tea as once again Lucy noticed the crescent smile of the Cheshire Cat as she manifested herself primly sitting in the chair. None of the chairs matched, but as the lovely brunette appeared with her pink and purple tail curling around it, Lucy noticed that the Mad Hatter had given her the only chair that looked supremely comfortable. She suddenly felt awkward sitting there, with two exotic beauties having far less comfortable chairs. Hell, one of them wasn't even claiming a seat, she was crawling about the table as if she were still the size of a mouse!

"Geez, calm down, Levy," the Cana cat said with a hint of agitation while sipping on a cup of tea that floated to her hand. One of her furry pink and purple ears twitched as a jaw dropping, stunningly decorated cheesecake appeared into her other, waiting hand.

With a smile and a hearty squeak of happiness, the Dormouse scampered back to the middle of the rectangular table, happily plopping her entire face into the once beautiful cake. Natsu began a hounding laugh as Gajeel frowned. "Oh man!" Levy cooed between chewing, "this is soooooo good!"

Cana allowed the cheese loving mouse woman to carry away the cake before she smirked at the others sitting at the table. "This is why I came carrying a spare." Another twitch of an ear brought the cake's double to her empty hand and she floated it to the table with nothing but a motion of her hand. Lucy stared incredulously at the Cheshire Cat's reckless use of power. She reached over to Natsu's sleeve and tugged it, calling his attention and abruptly halting his laughing fit—kind of.

He leaned back, still snickering at the not/mouse now crouched over the cake on the floor, shoveling it in. "He, he, he! Lookit her! She goes nuts over cheese, ain't that the funniest thing? How does she stay so thin?"

Lucy deadpanned and Natsu suddenly looked to her and jumped to his feet, misreading her expression and again shooting for the over dramatic, raising his arm and rolling his R. "Dormouse! Where is the Juicy's drink?"

"It's just... Lucy." The blonde sighed.

Levy's head popped up with a mask of icing. She blinked once, twice, then jumped to her feet. "Tea! Yes! Tea!" As she sprinted around Gajeel, he held up a handkerchief with a bored expression and Levy snatched it up smoothly and wiped her face as naturally as another might complete a well rehearsed dance. Lucy watched the not/mouse complete her drink and deliver it to her with a smile. "Here ya go, Juju!" She leaned against the table, waiting for her to try it expectantly with a swishing tail.

"It's... Lucy," she murmured, trying not to frown while staring at the contents of the cup placed in front of her, made by a mouse. How had it come to this again? The Wendy-bug had been trying to get her to drink and eat too. ...But this time she really was thirsty! If you'd gotten pulled here, there, everywhere, then perhaps you'd be ready to drink from a stranger's hand too. Besides. This little sprite of a mouse girl looked far more sane than this Mad Hatter, and significantly less angry than that March Hare.

The Cheshire Cat watched the human girl take a cautious sip, then a deeper one before she flashed her patented catlike smile at her. "Ahh, so it is the Mad Hatter who found the human girl this time, hmm?"

All eyes turned to the cat lady and Gajeel was the one to say, "Human... girl?" He turned back to Natsu with a frown, "Salamander, did you know that was a human?"

Natsu smirked, "The proper context would be IS, not WAS, and I definitely and certainly knew without a shadow of a doubt that this scrumptious lady was _not_ of this world."

"Oooooh!" Levy piped up, leaning even closer to the girl just noticing her cup was empty. That drink had been divine! As soon as she lowered the cup, the Levy girl was in her face again, "are all human girls as pretty as you?"

Gajeel groaned and stomped back around the table to again snatch the blunette off the table with a squeak. He then walked her back to the seat he'd originally tried placing her in and reminded her that the Juicy was Salamander's plus one, thus: _not hers_.

Cana smiled at the two of them before turning back to Lucy. "Don't blame the Dormouse, little human girl. Those of us here cannot help but be drawn to a dreamer." The way she leaned back in her chair reminded Lucy of how a cat seemed boneless at times as the cat smiled happily. "Ahh good, the guests have arrived."

Gajeel and Levy suddenly shushed as something entirely too eerie happened next. Lucy was beginning to wonder exactly what was in that tea when her head began swimming, partially convincing her that what she saw was nothing but a hallucination. As the music grew louder, gray silhouettes began to appear in all of the empty chairs—right before her eyes. But these did not solidify like the Cheshire Cat had. No, these newcomers stayed translucent and insubstantial. Cana smiled at the human girl's surprise as the Dormouse began making drinks and cutting cake for everyone. Lucy just stayed in her seat, drinking her tea... desiring to wake up now.

The music was merry, and a low drawl of voices could be heard though none of the silhouettes looked to be speaking. The Mad Hatter even laughed at something Lucy supposed could have been a joke. Just as the delicious looking piece of cheesecake finally won over her wariness, Natsu raised from his feet and called out, "Change... places!"

The music picked back up to lively and before Lucy knew it, Natsu pulled her from her seat. Her fork with a neatly cut piece of cake clattered back to the plate as he turned them both about and danced them around the table. Was she in the arms of a madman? A salamander? Or a dragon? He'd been called all three. His hands felt as though they radiated heat as he held one of hers while the other rested at her back.

The dance was surreal. Lucy couldn't help but imagine herself in the clutches of a dastardly fire dragon as his eyes burned holes through her soul. She could hear laughter all around her as he spun and dipped her, not once letting her fall. She found herself laughing along with the other voices as such merriment continued and her happiness was the Mad Hatter's delight. Lucy noticed that even the grumpy March Hare enjoyed the dance he shared with the Dormouse as the Cheshire Cat indulged in more drink; all the while spinning and ducking around the mysterious silhouettes that must be the source of the indiscernible voices all about them. When the music ended, All persons found a seat, and Natsu deposited Lucy in the seat Levy had been sat in before.

Once everyone was seated, the Mad Hatter raised back up with a glass held high. "To new friends!"

Amid a chorus of "Ayes," Natsu turned to Lucy, who sat up straighter under his gaze and lifted a glass. Hadn't they been tea cups a moment ago? She awkwardly clinked glasses with him and he smiled and they both drank deep.

"Haha!" Called out a rosy cheeked Cheshire Cat, "as always, a marvelous party." She stood, already completely covered in her stripes and slung a thermos over her arm. "Dormouse, thanks for the carry-out."

A large yawn came from the Levy mouse, "Yea, yea. Nighty night, Cana."

 _Wait,_ Lucy thought to herself. _The party is already over? I'd thought it'd just begun!_

The striped woman smiled to the girl laying her head on the table with a hand on her hip. "The nobodies and I will be getting out of your hair now." As she began to vanish, her white smile fell onto the blonde watching her, "oh yea... and try not to make anymore dragons cry."

All the eerie silhouettes vanished right along with the Cheshire Cat as two pairs of eyes fell on Lucy's. She glanced between Natsu and Gajeel, completely befuddled. "What? No, no... I didn't!"

Gajeel frowned, "Just like a red, makin' people cry."

Even the Mad Hatter gave her a flat look, "So mean, making the kid cry."

"What!" Lucy was beginning to grow nervous, while Levy made adorable little snores. "I, I, didn't!"

"Gehe," Gajeel grew a smirk. "You sure Cana didn't mean you, Salamander? I bet she could make you cry pretty easy."

"Oh! Look at the time!" Natsu smirked from where he sat, reclined next to the blonde. From his pocket he pulled a broken pocket watch. "Long day tomorrow, yes, March Hare?"

"Aye." He suddenly pulled a huge book from one of the branches (had that thing been up there the whole time?) and slammed it onto the table now covered in its original red tea set. Where had the glasses gone? Honestly! She'd been _holding_ one of them for crying out loud! He opened the massive book somewhere in the middle and flipped through to a particular page. "We gotta get to the whites to collect payment, then we gots a meeting with the reds. Those guys must have another job for us."

Natsu snickered, "Hehe! I hope their garden is still white! Gotta say that may just be my best work!"

Lucy still couldn't fathom why he would have painted all those things white. Exactly how long had that taken him?

"Sure, Salamander. Like the red queen is just gonna let that sit overnight. You better hope she don't come collecting your head."

Natsu waved it off, "Let her try. Who's she gonna use to get'em back if she shaves off my head? You worry too much." He then turned to look to his date with a twinkle in his eye. "You'll stay with us of course. Don't wantcha getting mixed up with either of those groups. Now," His smile almost looked... hungry, and it made Lucy wish for her pepper spray all over again. "Where should we sleep?"

Her eyes widened, "Sleep? No, no, Master Dragneel... I must get home! I—"

Suddenly the blunette's head popped back up, "Sleep?! I love sleep!" Levy scurried back onto the table, narrowly dodging the March Hare who was reaching for her and dived onto Lucy, toppling the chair over.

"Ack!" Lucy squawked.

Both the March Hare and Mad Hatter came up to the scene with sweatdrops, for the Dormouse was smiling with closed eyes with arms wrapped tightly around Lucy's waist. "You'll be my sleeping buddy tonight!"

"What!" Natsu steamed, "go find your own! That one's mine!"

Gajeel frowned, but placed a hand on the Mad Hatter's shoulder before he got too worked up. "Chill out man. You know how she gets."

Lucy blinked up at Natsu's face as it drooped to a faint pout. "... _Fine._ But I call dibs on her tomorrow."

"Wait, _dibs?!"_ Lucy tried to interject.

"Geheh." Gajeel smirked down at Lucy. "Hope you're comfortable, human girl."

Even as the Levy mouse started back up with her petite snores, Lucy called out in alarm when the bunny man began to walk away. "You're just gonna leave me here!?"

Gajeel kept on without a word, but Natsu stayed, just... watching her.

Lucy grew more than annoyed after a moment of this, "Mr. Dragneel! Aren't you going to help me? I can't just... go to sleep! I've gotta find the blue cat so I can get home!"

The Mad Hatter walked around the sleeping mouse and sat himself next to Lucy's head, then with a content sigh, he laid down in the grass right next to her. Looking up into the night sky, unhindered by clouds, he spoke lowly. "Don't worry, Juicy, I am sure you'll return home before you grow too lost."

 _He almost sounds sad... how peculiar._ Lucy shook her head, about to say something, but then he turned his head and said. "Time is too short for your kinda formalities. Call me Natsu."

Lucy blushed, this pink headed madman who had already kissed and danced with her... well, she supposed she should be able to at least call him by his name at this point. "Umm... very well... Natsu."

As she stared into his eyes, they began to feel heavy. Not for the first time, she wondered what had been in that tea as a yawn escaped her.

It wasn't long after that that the human girl fell asleep, leaving the Mad Hatter to his own thoughts. Dangerous, that. Natsu had so many random thoughts swimming about that it was hard to focus on just one. However, this time all of them seemed to be centered on the girl with the golden hair that smelled so familiar that he'd felt it might be necessary to brand her his. The Cheshire Cat had called her human, and that all here would be drawn to her... if that was the case... perhaps a branding would be in order.

No one was going to take this jewel that he'd discovered amongst the rose bushes.

* * *

 _ **I do believe this chapter sets the stage properly for the journey ahead, my lovelies.**_

 _ **Thank you all for joining me down this rabbit hole. It means so much to me to be gifted with such loving and steadfast readers.**_

 _ **Seriphia  
**_ **aka  
** _ **Lick**_

 ***~.✨.~***


	3. Chapter 3

**Rated M  
** **M is for MATURE, people.  
** **If I can pretend to be, then you can too!**

 **DISCLAIMER : I OWN NOTHING! *sob* However sometimes I wonder if Mashima-sama used to follow me and my friends around to help him dream up a few of his characters!**

 **At least let a girl dream!**

 **My lovelies,**

 **As I have already stated, this is my pet project, and as such, this tale has become the sole thing I think about when nothing else in my life makes the sort of sense one would think life is supposed to make. This story is, in a way, a ventilation for my own madness... and I thank you for taking this journey with me.**

 **After all, the path to insanity would be a lonely road to walk alone-and I never could have asked for better company.**

* * *

Gentlemanly Behavior

Rising to a morning in a world such as this was surreal. Such majestic skies made it impossible for the maiden lost in a land of madness to entertain such thoughts as: it had all been nothing but a dream. However, when a talking mouse colored in a hue of sunrise with blue splotches intruded upon her vision... well, perhaps she simply had yet to wake up.

Now Lucy sat, doctoring a refreshing cup of crisp, warm tea whilst gazing out at the rising sun at the mouse's behest. The Levy girl now sat at the edge of a high cliff at the forest's edge, dangling her legs off and kicking merrily. Some women had more sense, like Lucy, who stayed back under one of the bordering trees with legs tucked neatly under skirts. A passing thought made her grimace at her lap. The fabric she wore was smudged with dirt in many places. Where was one to get a clean set of clothes around here?

 _What am I thinking? I must get home! I cannot think of such frivolities..._

"It's gonna be a big day today." Levy looked over her shoulder back at the girl under the tree, tearing her out of her own thoughts. "Gaajie and Natsu has an audience with both queens today." Silence filled the air as Lucy contemplated the mouse's words before Levy spoke again. "You know, Juju, you can stay here with me if you don't want to go with them. Meeting the queens can be... kinda intense."

"Hmm? Oh, uh, no." Lucy forced herself out of the stupor that seemed to be clouding her mind. "Apologizes, Mistress Levy, but I must be on my way. If I can't find the blue cat, then I suppose I'll just have to find another way to return home."

"Home?" Levy's brows sloped down sadly, "you don't like it here, Juju?"

Suddenly fearing that she'd offended, Lucy tried on a smile. "It's not that... I mean, Father will be worried for me. By now he may have half the Yard searching for me."

Levy's round ear twitched in confusion, "So when you're lost, it's other people's job to find you?"

What an odd thing to say. Lucy pressed her lips together, mulling over how to respond when they both jumped from a sudden and most unexpected pillar of fire shooting out of the canopy of trees. The flame's roar was deafening.

"Eep!" Squeaked Levy, now a tiny mouse again, scrambling up onto Lucy's shoulder. Standing on her hind legs, her cold nose nuzzled the summoner's cheek while pointing back to the forest of crimson-leaved willows. "The boys are awake, we should get back."

"Wait," Lucy raised a brow at the tiny mouse's logic, " _towards_ the fire?"

The mouse closed her eyes and nodded in merriment, "Of course!"

Good sense was certainly _not_ what brought her legs to reenter the forest of the Mad Tea Party, but the sight awaiting her there was certainly something to behold. The pink haired madman was shaking the March Hare by the collar despite his being a head taller than him. "Whaddya mean ya don't know! That mouse wanders off everywhere and now she's gettin' Juicy to do it too! I know you know her hangouts so go find'er!"

"Aww..." Levy whispered remorsefully from Lucy's shoulder, "I guess I'm a bad influence on you, Juju."

Lucy frowned and raised her voice, "Master Dragneel! Since when was it a crime to take a morning stroll?"

The hatter became as silent as the grave as his head turned slowly toward the offended girls.

Gajeel grew a smirk and removed Natsu's hands from his jacket and ran a hand over his studded, brown ears. "Geheh. You tell'em lady."

Sharp eyes darted to him next, "And just exactly _why_ does the hatter say you know where Mistress Levy goes? I should hope you are not the sort to spy on a young lady."

The bunny man actually turned a pale shade of pink! Lucy found the sight so out of place on such a fierce face that she lost her next sentence as he sputtered, "I don't! I ain't! Damnit! I told Salamander I didn't know where you guys was!"

"Pah hah hah hah!" They all started when the hatter fell onto his back in an uproar, which of course rubbed the March Hare the wrong way.

"Damnit Salamander! We got work to do!"

Natsu popped back to his feet, his hat still down on the ground. "Yup! We sure do!" He stepped up to Lucy and offered her his hand with a pronounced canine gleaming though a half smirk, "tell me Juicy, have you ever met with royalty before?"

How was it that as he leveled his gaze on her, that her heart began to beat faster? _A scalding tongue explored hers as breath more than a little warm lit her cheeks and sped her heart. The way their lips fit together made her wonder if she too, should join the caress and melt within him..._

Her eyes widened and she took a step back, shaking the unwelcome memory of this man's brazenness from her mind. The Mad Hatter raised a brow at her retreat and the mouse on her shoulder tapped her cheek, "Juju?"

Lucy let out a squeak of her own which positively tickled the hatter's fancy as she turned to Levy, "Wha... what? Oh! I'm so sorry, Mistress Levy! What did you say?"

"...Nothing." The mouse tilted her head curiously at the girl. "Hatter's the one who asked you something."

Oh but she couldn't possibly look at him right at that moment! She stared blankly at the rodent as she tried desperately to recall what he'd asked.

"Great date you found there, Salamander."

Natsu never looked away from the girl avoiding eye-lock. He responded simply with, "Yea, her mind wanders magnificently."

That did it. Flushed face or not, Lucy turned back to him and indignantly called out an, "I beg your pardon sir?!"

The Mad Hatter let out a chuckle and held a hand out to the mouse and Levy scampered into it. With an index finger, he scratched the top of her head. "Try not to break anything when you hide the base this time yea?"

"Hehe!" Levy giggled, "I'll try! It'd be horrible if there was nothing left for you to break!"

Feeling relieved that Natsu had turned to allow the mouse to leap onto the table's white cloth, Lucy began to dust off her dress uselessly, "Yes well, do try to enjoy going about your business. I must be on my way now."

"Yep! Let's be on our way," announced the hatter as he shoved a jug to Gajeel and brought a thermos with a strap to Lucy, seamlessly taking her hand in his and scooping up his hat. "Off the the White Queen we go."

^.^

Exactly why was she walking with these two again? Lucy really needed to start pronouncing her intentions more clearly. It wasn't that she was _trying_ to be irresponsible! She knew she needed to get home. But she had no idea where to start! Walking through the hills Natsu had dragged her past yesterday yielded no path, and the Cana cat had warned her from straying too far.

So there she was, walking with a self proclaimed dragon and a bunny man.

Gajeel led the way as they crested another hill, while Natsu walked next to her. Perhaps he had made a wrong turn in life; trying to walk like a gentlemen was putting him out. His hands longed to touch the girl from the rose bush, so they stayed firmly behind his back while he escorted her. No matter. Simply one more fleeting thought running through the inferno raging in his mind. He was him, and nothing would change that. However, once the silence had stretched too far, they both spoke at once.

"You never answered my question, Juicy."

"So what was all that fire in the forest earlier?"

The two locked gazes, and as a pink brow rose, a maiden looked away. She nibbled her lip as she watched her feet take one step at a time. She just couldn't stand those eyes on her. Why had he kissed her like that? It'd ruined everything! _Wait, what was there to ruin?_ Her face changed to a grimace as she started to brood over it, and such a face made the dragon next to her cackle.

In a huff, Lucy halted her ascent of the next hill and turned on him, "And just _what_ are you laughing at now?!"

"Your face!" He continued chuckling.

"I beg your pardon!"

"Haha! You're still doing it!"

Her cheeks puffed out and she stormed up the hill after the far less infuriating bunny ahead, but didn't get far. A feverish grip on her wrist halted her and she turned again to look down at the top of Natsu's finely stitched hat. A hat that slowly raised to show the shaded eyes of the man beneath. "I believe you asked about fire?"

It almost felt as though his words answered her question. There was a wildfire dancing somewhere behind his eyes, she could feel the heat all around her, from her skin all the way to her very core. A petite hand rushed to her heart as her other remained suspended by his grip. "Ma, Maaas~ter Dragneel—I..."

One corner of his lip curled at her incoherence, but was rudely interrupted by the miscreant at the top of the hill. "Yo lovebirds! We still movin' here or what?"

"Oh dear!" Lucy jumped and pulled from his clutches and up the hill with an insatiable need to hide her embarrassment. When she crested the hill, the sight below filled her heart with relief. A wide smile filled her expression and she hiked up her skirts as one does when running. And run she did! "A path! A path!"

Natsu reached the top and scratched under his hat at the sight of his Juicy running down to the white tiled walkway that would eventually lead them to the White Queen's home. His pupils looked to the March Hare at the sound of the bunny's chuckle. "Geheh, lost to a fuckin' road. You really suck Salamander."

Calmly placing his hands back behind his back after straightening his scarf, he took a step forward. Then swiftly lifted an arm to slam the back of his fist into Gajeel's big mouth before continuing on.

So... while Lucy happily plucked a flower here and there as she skipped on the tiled path, the March Hare tackled the Mad Hatter from behind and they rolled down the hill in a flurry of kicks and punches. Everything from ear pulling to leg twisting, this was no gentleman's brawl. Though Lucy just kept leading the way, completely content to follow this path even if it wasn't the set of colors she remembered—colors didn't seem to follow the same rules as her world—all the while utterly unaware of the fight taking place behind her.

Her happy gait was interrupted by a masculine voice calling out, "Who goes there! State your name and business like a man!"

Lucy stopped and dropped her small bouquet at the sight of a Goliath of a man who appeared to have a demon's arm and leg. His hair was as white as a ghost's and he wore tight tan pants (well, the leg that fit it anyway, the other was just sort of... ripped off) and a black and white striped shirt that was also ripped at the sleeve to make room for the gargantuan arm.

"Meep..." Lucy felt as if she was shrinking... "Umm... guys...?"

"No no no, Dum," Came another voice trailing after him, who quickly revealed herself to be yet another cat woman, dressed similar to the man. Lucy examined the large catlike paws she had on both hands and feet with white fur and black tabby stripes that faded into existence from otherwise pale skin as the small girl about the same size as she berated her companion. "It's 'how do you do' and shake their hands now! You heard the queen!" The white ears might have been easy to miss on her head of snow-colored hair had they not also been striped in black. The girl even wore a bell around her neck!

"Oh yeah..." The Goliath scratched a hand through his white tufts as he averted his eyes in shame. "Sorry Sis, it's just not as manly as our old line."

The cat girl sighed and patted his arm, "I know big bro, but orders are orders." The two smiled at each other and then turned to examine the blonde girl in unison for the first time.

"Umm... hello..." Lucy all but whispered, trying not to fidget.

The big guy smirked at the scene behind her and his sister (he'd called her Sis, after all) sweatdropped. "They're at it again."

"Heh, so manly, those two."

Lucy blinked at the two looking past her and turned around only to start at the scene of Natsu taking a rather desperate tug at Gajeel's ears in effort to keep him from biting his arm.

"Alright you two," the white haired man stepped past her and pulled the two apart, holding the March Hare with his demonic hand and Natsu in the other. They both dangled off the ground while still taking swings at the other.

"He started it!" Yelled Natsu, "he tackled me all the way down the hill!"

"Only cuz ya sucker punched me, Flamebrain!"

"A reprimand is NOT a sucker punch!"

A giggle brought Lucy's attention back to this new cat woman, "Oh those two will never change... except..." Her eyes leveled on her, "you. You're different. Why are you different?"

It was Lucy's turn to sweatdrop. Exactly what did she mean by that?

"Alright, alright!" Yelled out the March Hare, "lemme down, damnit!"

The large man set the two of them down and watched them glare at each other warily before saying, "You guys are in White country now, so you better behave, ain't that right Dee?"

The girl beside Lucy perked up and smiled pleasantly, "Yes indeed!" Then she rushed past the blonde to stand in front of Natsu and said, "How do you do, and shake your hands!" Natsu grinned at her as she took his hands, crisscrossed, and shook them.

"Doin' great, Dee!" The Hatter continued grinning, shaking her hands in return—enough to make the small cat girl bob up and down.

"Come on already," Gajeel groaned past the both of them and tromped past Lucy down the path. "Some of us wanna get this over with already."

Lucy turned to follow, but glanced back at the woman still holding the hatter's hands. When it appeared that he started to look up at her, she quickly turned away to trail the March Hare.

Natsu frowned at the unescorted woman while the white haired girl poked him, "What's with her? She isn't a part of your tea party."

A smile ebbed on his lips as he patted the girl's hand before letting it go. "Oh she absolutely is. Our newest member! The Juicy of our Mad Tea Party!"

Lucy groaned and turned back to them, ignoring the arm the cat woman curled around Natsu's. "If you are going to introduce people, get it right! I am Lucy Heartfilia!"

"The Juicy." Natsu corrected.

"Heartfilia?" The two whites asked aloud as Lucy frowned and almost growled, "Lucy!"

"Hmm." Natsu curled a thoughtful finger to his chin and looked down at the woman latched to his arm. "Did you guys get an echo? I thought those only hung around the Cheshire forest."

"Ugh!" Lucy flung her arms in exasperation and walked on after Gajeel to the sound of both his and her chuckles. In an effort to separate herself from them, she caught up to Gajeel and walked alongside him.

He frowned down at her and kept walking, hoping that she'd keep her yap shut.

"Just who does she think she is, calling _me_ different?"

Gajeel raised a brow, but kept trying to ignore her.

"And _laughing_ at me? Just what sort of kingdom are you taking me to if the guards are those two?"

"Look lady," Gajeel grimaced, "Levy offered ta letcha stay back with her, but cha had ta bud ure nose in anyway. This here is their kingdom so I ain't listenin' to any complaints comin' from you. Jest keep ure nose down so we can get outta here sooner."

Lucy looked up at him with a frown of her own, but wilted under his iron gaze. It was so cold compared to his business partner. She looked away forlornly and agreed with a polite, "Yes sir... of course."

It didn't take long before the path grew wider, and began to wind around delicately carved columns. Such a lovely walkway must lead to an amazing castle. Lucy started to get excited to see it. Who was this queen to have such splendor? Was she anything like the monarchy of her world? Surely in a land such as this the architecture must be a sight to behold!

So imagine her jaw-dropping surprise when the white tiled floor led to a pub. A _pub!_ Sure the doors were double... but this was a cottage at best. It even had a windmill built on the top! The entire rundown building had what looked like a fresh coat of pristine white paint that helped hide the dilapidation, but the vines running up its side looked like the bricks holding it together might get strangled any moment now. Above the entrance, there was a peculiar symbol Lucy could have sworn she'd seen before with the word TAIL scrawled underneath. The blonde had stopped her advance to look up at the building, and the two whites rushed past them as Natsu stopped right next to her. Gajeel hadn't stopped until the two intercepted him at the door he was reaching for.

Both the cat woman and demon man opened the door at once saying, almost singing:

"Tweedle Dum  
and Tweedle Dee,  
bring three that come  
to get their fee!"

"Hehe!" Natsu grinned, taking a leisurely stance next to her, "right to the point! I love these guys!"

From the open doors, the blonde could easily see most of the interior from here. Was there really a need to go inside? Her head jerked as the madman next to her offered her his arm. She frowned at it, recalling how he hadn't complained when that... Tweedle girl had held onto it and was about to proclaim that she was no one's sloppy seconds when that charming gaze fried her senses as he said, "No succulent plus one of mine is going to meet a bonafide queen unescorted."

 _Hmm. Well I suppose it would be better to have someone affiliated with her to introduce me._ Placing a hesitant hand on his arm bought her a price-winning, gallant smile as he walked her into the tavern. The March Hare had already seated himself at a bar near the opposite wall, demanding something a bit stronger than tea. It was delivered promptly by a platinum haired, buxom beauty who then landed eyes on the two of them. Her smile was contagious as Natsu waved to her like an old friend as they too made their way to the bar. Lucy had never been to an establishment such as this, her father would freak! ...And the low cleavage of this woman's dress was making even her blush.

"Oh my! And just who is this lovely girl the hatter brings with him?" The woman asked, making Lucy deadpan. Even her voice was adorable! Yet she called her lovely? In Lucy's opinion, she didn't even come close! The tips this bar maid must make on flattery alone!

"This, my dear Mirajane, is The Scrumptious Juicy, spirit summoner extraordinaire, newest member of our Mad Tea Party."

The woman dubbed Mirajane tilted her head and blinked at the blonde, all the while placing a drink in front of Natsu. "The... Juicy?"

Lucy frowned at Natsu, who was happily taking a generous sip of whatever had been placed before him. "It's just Lucy."

"But Juicy really suits you." The woman chuckled, doing what the hatter had managed to refrain from doing this whole time and reached over the bar to poke one of Lucy's breasts. The poor girl grew completely red and froze as the bartender giggled, poking it a few more times.

"Yo!" Came a voice she'd heard a few times yesterday, "speaking of juice, I'm runnin' on empty over here, Mira."

"Oh dear... One moment Cana!" And Mirajane blissfully retracted her hand to grab three more mugs. Before she left however, she turned back to the three of them with a wink. "Apologizes, I'll be right back!"

As the Cheshire Cat argued as to why she didn't just bring the barrel, Gajeel looked over at his other two companions. He shook his head as Lucy was still trapped in a state of mortification, "Geez Salamander. Stare much?"

It was true. The Mad Hatter was staring at the star maiden's chest, practically boiling over with thoughts unfit for a gentleman. He murmured, "They're so... squishy..."

"Geheh. You better stop that or she won't be comin' back to the tea party anytime soon, Salamander."

Fortunately, Natsu straightened with a clearing of his throat when Mirajane came back to jar Lucy back to the land of now. "So!" She hummed with a contented smile, "what sort of drink do you like, Juicy?"

"Oh! Umm..." Lucy tried to beat down a blush, "I'm actually pretty hungry." She didn't have much jewel on her, but could at least pay for something to eat since she still had to go hiking across this country in search for a way home. "Could I maybe have a menu? I shouldn't order anything too expensive..." As she talked, a barrel of ale began floating around the bar behind the bartender.

"You're hungry?" Mirajane looked to her with worry, "oh my! Think nothing of it! No one in my kingdom gets to go hungry!"

"Wait... _your_ kingdom?" Lucy choked, turns out that it's not so hard to do on a dry throat.

"Lisanna! Get this girl some of the left overs from breakfast!"

"Aye sir!" The cat woman from earlier saluted and dashed past the bar and into a room behind. The barrel floating toward the Cheshire Cat had only narrowly been missed.

"Err," Started the March Hare, with one ear drooping. "We ain't got time to stay. Still gotta meeting with the other queen."

"Oh..." Mirajane, Queen Mirajane's brows lowered sadly. "I really wish you two would steer clear of her. She just gets... so upset. I don't see why you two couldn't just come stay here with us."

The Hatter lowered his mug and spoke with a slightly serious tone for once. "Now don't you start. I already had to swat away so many red recruiters that it's amazing she didn't just give me a close shave years ago."

"Recruiters?" Lucy queried.

Natsu flashed her a cunning grin, speaking lowly. "They'd love a dragon like me on their side."

A chill ran up her spine as he referred to himself as a dragon while leaning toward her so close.

"Yes, but remaining neutral must be dangerous," The White Queen started. "Otherwise surely more people would stay in the Inbetween."

"Here ya go!" Sang out the Tweedle girl who placed a delicious plate of ham, biscuits and eggs before Lucy and immediately added her two cents to the conversation. "The Inbetween is nothing for someone as brave as the dragons!"

 _The dragons?_ Lucy thought to herself, _I've only met the two. Exactly how many of these people think themselves dragons? Maybe it's an exclusive club or something..._

"And with Natsu leading them," Lisanna continued, "they'll be just fine! Don't you worry Mira, they'll be back for another job before you know it!"

Her words fell on mostly deaf ears though, for both Natsu and Gajeel were staring at the meal Lucy was primly and ecstatically eating. Mirajane put a slender hand to her cheek with another smile and asked generously, "Would you boys care for some breakfast too?"

Both the men begrudged the smell of such tasty food and hung their heads in defeat.

"...Yes please."

If they hurry, they still might make it to the Red Queen before they were labeled: Late.

* * *

 **Mwahaha! Oh man but I did not think I'd finish this chapter in a day! Gods but I love everything about this fic! This is gonna be fuuuuuuuuuuuuun!**

 **Eat a slice of cake for me too,**  
 **Seriphia**  
 **aka**  
 ** _Lick_**

 _*~.🎨.~*_


	4. Chapter 4

**Rated M  
** **M is for MATURE, people.  
** **If I can pretend to be, then you can too!**

 **DISCLAIMER : I OWN NOTHING! *sob* However sometimes I wonder if Mashima-sama used to follow me and my friends around to help him dream up a few of his characters!**

 **At least let a girl dream!**

 **Welcome back my lovelies! So glad that you've come back for more. 😍**

 **With Fairy Tail on its way to conclusion, I just can't stop thinking about my lovely little pet project here; as a result, here is the next chapter... and pay no attention to the lick (or licks) on that beautiful face of yours while you read...**

* * *

Drawn to a Dreamer

The White Queen had seemed overly worried when Gajeel mentioned that their next meeting was a lunch appointment. She'd sent Tweedle Dum out to get mounts and after giving Lucy a once over, pronounced her unprepared to meet the Red Queen. Oddly, this had brought Mirajane to reprimand the hatter. Something about how he could have, at the very least, made the Juicy a fresh dress? The March Hare heard none of it though, so when the demon-man (otherwise called Elfman) brought out two blue, fat, ostrich-like creatures with beaks three times the size of their head, it'd been time to head out.

Now her only problem was that there were only two—and she had no idea how to ride one! Gajeel groaned and the Tweedle girl giggled at her confession, but Mad Hatter mounted and leaned over, offering her a hand up with another dashing smile. "Dodos ain't so bad, way better than those magical vehicles..." His face paled for a split second before recovering his smirk. "It'd be great if I could teach you someday."

All murmurs and laughter had died at Natsu's offer, and Lucy stared up at him feeling a slice of the exaltation that had come when they'd danced together. Her mind was trying to consider the pros and cons of accepting his help, but her heart was fluttering so quickly that each thought blurred into the next, rendering them all indiscernible. Useless. Perhaps she _was_ as mad as the rest of them...

" _Come on!_ " The March Hare growled (since when did rabbits growl?). Lucy quickly took Natsu's hand and was hiked up to ride sideways in front him. A soft rose color sprinkled her cheeks as he took hold of the dodo's reigns to each side of her. Yes, it was a good thing her father would not see this.

Just before the Mad Tea Party clicked at their rides, Queen Mirajane rushed up to the two sitting on Natsu's dodo. At first Lucy didn't want to look at her, being fairly certain she'd heard the queen swoon while she'd settled herself between the hatter's legs. Though when it became clear that royalty was trying to give her some sort of parcel, etiquette demanded she pay her attention.

Raising a satchel to her with a pleasant smile, she said, "Just put this on whenever you get the chance. My sister is not the type to forgive uncleanliness in her court." Lucy blinked, taking the offering while absorbing her words. _Sister? Court? Why does the Red Queen keep a court, yet this queen just keeps a rundown pub?_

"Hyah!" Gajeel snapped, and his dodo hopped and ruffled his feathers as if insulted before he took off; kicking up so much dirt that the others had to raise arms to shield their eyes (except for Natsu, who simply lowered his hat). A mischievous smirk filled his lips as he spurred their bird on with only a soft kick, and the mount chuckled (yes, chuckled...) and took off in a run.

"Ahh!" Lucy cried out, taking shelter against the hatter's chest.

Natsu purred in delight and leaned forward a tad before speaking into her ear. "Hang on tight, Juice, these guys love a good race!"

"Race...?"

The blonde was too busy cringing in Natsu's coat to notice as they quickly gained on Gajeel. The rabbit's bird squawked his distemper and lowered his head in an effort to gain more speed. He wouldn't be bested by another dodo carrying not one, but two bipeds! Beautiful scenery of white trees with gray leaves rushed by them, eventually giving way to more natural colors. As the dodos grew neck and neck, Gajeel threw Natsu a grimace and the hatter began to laugh, and laugh more, urging the bird under him and his Juicy faster. Once they began pulling ahead, the dodo carrying Gajeel nipped at a feather on his opponent's hind quarters. One should not blame the bird for his poor sportsmanship, however; the large man on top of our feathered friend might as well have been wrought from iron, he was so heavy!

Team Natsu's bird squawked in surprise, for these creatures are skittish little things, and lowered his neck a fraction too far and abruptly went crashing down. Skittish and clumsy, mingled with long appendages never make for a good combination—especially when running at top speed.

Once the poor thing tripped over his own neck, skidding and flipping over, the two riders were flung into the air. Lucy couldn't contain her screams once she felt herself fly from the bird and clawed her hands into Natsu's jacket, bracing for impact. That hatter though, just kept on laughing while wrapping arms tightly around his treasure. The mirth within couldn't be contained! Everything about the ride from the White's tiny kingdom had been magnificent. He'd never known the splendor of having someone as unique as this Juicy cling to him. Despite all the mad cackling, Natsu still managed to manipulate their fall to land in a squat before loosening his grip on her.

" _Mister_ Gajeel!" Her voice rang in the hatter's ear as he was unexpectedly pushed onto red and white tiles—"Oof!"—when Lucy planted a palm on his chest to better look up at the March Hare, coming to a stop next to them. "Have you no idea how to control your bird? A stunt like that could have killed us!"

The large man lifted a brow at her, "With Salamander riding him? Yeah right."

Natsu was getting a face full of breasts dangling right above his face (promptly hushing his gleeful fit) as she continued. "Who the rider is, is of no consequence!"

"Erk... Juice...!" Natsu's voice came out in heaves.

Which rounded the lady's temper back on the man she was on top of, but her expression only became more stern, "It's _Lucy!_ Why is it that you don't just _get it right?!"_

"Please—get offa meeee!" His face was flushed, with the eyes of a cornered and panicked beast.

Finally becoming aware of their position, Lucy's eyes rounded and she darted to her feet as quick as she could, actually, quicker than she would have thought she could. With apologizes already laid out on her tongue, Lucy hurriedly slammed her mouth back shut. She'll stop complaining, but she would _not_ apologize.

Natsu sat up, but did not stand as Gajeel dismounted, rolling his eyes while grabbing the hatter's hat from where it lay at the feet of the stumbled dodo just picking himself back up. He smirked at the bird and murmured, "Geheh, gotta be willing to play dirty sometimes if ya wanna win. Just admit that the other guy out witted your feathered ass."

The bird narrowed its eyes at the March Hare and squawked right in his face, plastering the man's long ears against his matted hair. He grumbled as the dodo clambered up to Natsu to check on his passenger. The hatter grinned as the bird nudged his back and he pivoted to tickle its chin. "Don't worry about it. I hear he cheats at cards too."

And since actions have reactions, the other dodo squawked indignantly at such an accusation, making Gajeel cover ears that were already ringing. "Damnit Natsu, you really suck." Nonetheless, he strolled over to him and offered him a hand up. They both smiled confidently to one another, clasped wrists, and Gajeel hefted him back to his feet. While Natsu dusted himself off, Lucy looked around in awe. They stood in a circle of pristine, polished red and white tiles with a fountain decorating the middle. The statue was of a girl, possibly smaller than she wearing a simple gown. Water flowed over the stone head to mimic long, full hair, with two wing-shaped adornments interrupting the liquid's path. She looked so sweet and innocent, standing in the middle of the fountain, barefoot. The statue was built just tall enough to seem as though if you stood before her, it looked as though the girl was smiling softly down on you.

As she stared up into the statue's eyes, Lucy asked in almost a whisper, "How much farther until we reach the queen?"

"At the edge of the kingdom now." Gajeel answered, handing Natsu his hat. "Jest gotta check with customs and make it another mile or so." He turned to grab his dodo's reigns as it started to slink off. "I don't think so bud. You got our payment on your back. You ain't gettin' home til ya get us home."

The bird pouted (such a thing is not impossible) as the other bird chortled and made its way to check on his other passenger. Just at the same time Lucy bent over to peer through the water. There was something inscribed under there. She squinted her eyes to get a better look then screamed as the dodo nudged her back just as it had Natsu's. In her surprise, she landed face first into the clear water, and as she started to pull herself up—a worried bird did the rest for her. The dodo hadn't _meant_ to push her, and it felt terrible! With the purest of intentions, it grabbed a beak full of petticoats and skirts bunched at her rear and tried to heft her up. Good intentions notwithstanding however and just as stated previously, these birds are extremely clumsy (it comes as no surprise, but a pity, that these poor creatures were unable to remain in the realms of king and country). He judged the girl's weight wrong and vaulted her up into the air, flinging water everywhere. Both the men shielded their eyes and only Lucy got a glimpse at what was coming—amidst screams.

Something was flying through the air... _right_ at her.

She couldn't tell exactly what it was, but at that moment, she was willing to latch onto just about anything; so when it narrowly dodged her, Lucy grabbed at what looked to be a rope trailing behind it. "AACK," was all she heard before a much more booming voice called out, "DAMNIT HAPPY! GET BACK HERE! THE JUICY IS _MINE_!"

Already much too far away to possibly be heard, whatever, nay, _whomever_ she was grasping at called back, "No can do Natsu! I'll be late! LATE! To a very important date!" Then Lucy yiped anew as the creature spun in a few excited circles while murmuring out, "Oh Charle...!"

The girl clinging to life and tail of this flying creature had no thoughts except for how badly she wanted to keep that delicious late breakfast inside, rather than outside.

~.~

Lucy could not be sure if what happened next was reality or dream—if any of this was real to begin with. It was all a blur, or perhaps a whim, or an echo straight from an imaginative mind...

"Who is this girl, Happy!?" A commanding voice, feminine and confident. "Exactly what are you playing at? We'll not entertain anymore of your delusions!"

"Gee, I'm really sorry ma'am... it's just that she grabbed my tail, and when she fainted—I couldn't just let her fall..." This one sounded like a chastised child.

"Ugh! She's filthy! Get her cleaned up. We'll decide what to do with her after we finish with our investigators."

"Aye sir..."

Everything faded from blur back to darkness.

~.~

Once her eyes managed to open again, she found herself in a soft, small bed, with afternoon light filtering in through curtains wafting from a lazy breeze.

"Charle! She's awake!"

"Well I should hope so, Cat! She's a young woman, not an hour glass. Your manhandling wouldn't have killed her!"

"Yeah... I'm reeeeally sorry about that..."

"Yes well, you should be. That had been a gift from Time himself, and as such can never be replaced!"

Lucy's vision began to sharpen, to see two cats standing on chairs at her bedside. The white cat, holding her arms folded went largely over looked, for the other was precisely the very blue cat that she'd followed into this strange place! Sitting up quickly (and instantly receiving a piercing headache for it), she spoke much louder than intended. "It's you! You're the stupid cat that got me into this whole mess!"

The cat began to look nervous, looking from side to side, "What cat? Where? The only cat here is the lovely Charle! Nope, eheheh, no other cats here!"

"Oh give it up, Happy. Obviously she won't play along with your shenanigans like the others."

"But Charle!" The bunny-headband wearing cat whined.

Charle closed her eyes and with a repressed sigh, she murmured, "Well since the two of you are clearly already acquainted, perhaps you should introduce us? You can't very well take her to the bath."

"No way!" Lucy stammered in a hurry, "not a chance! I'm not letting that cat outta my sight! I've gotta get home!" _Yep. I've lost it. Not only am I_ talking _to cats, but now I'm arguing with them._ Thinking of the talking, shape-shifting mouse Levy might have helped put her mind at ease, but who had time to think of the past at a time like this?

"Don't be foolish child!" The small white cat snapped back, "the Queen said to clean you up and that's exactly what is going to happen." Then in afterthought, she frowned and looked away, "though I do hope you can manage the scrubbing yourself."

"What! Of course I can!" Just who does this kitty think she is?

"Very well then." The white cat called Charle sprouted wings, making Lucy yelp anew. Without waiting for permission, Charle took hold of Lucy, effectively yanking the blonde out of bed.

As Lucy was pulled out of the room, she called out after Happy, "You better not disappear again, Cat! I mean it! We're gonna have a serious talk!"

The white cat flew her down far too many corridors for her to keep track before placing her back on her feet in an impressive bath house. Lucy gawked at the huge pool of piping hot water and stone structures. "Woooow... this is where... I get to take a bath?"

"Well of course, child! Now come on, out of those clothes. We haven't got all day!"

Lucy blushed. She didn't have a towel, hadn't even met the master of this place, didn't have a towel, and wasn't even sure if they were alone! And she didn't even have a towel. How could she possibly just... strip down?

"Hmm." Charle thought aloud, "I suppose I can collect your clothes a bit later. Your things have been brought in already, or should I find you a set of clothes?"

"Oh! No no, I, umm... have something." _Thank you, thank you, Queen Mirajane!_

"Very well. But be quick about it. The queen intends to speak with you before the ball tonight and it's best not to keep her waiting."

With the room all to herself (or so she hoped), Lucy discarded clothes now more dirty than ever into a pile on the floor and slowly stepped a toe into the pool. Oh but the water felt sooooo nice! She happily sank her entire body in with a refreshing sigh. "Now _this_ is a bath suited for a queen!" She would have to thank the woman for sharing it so generously. The things the White Queen said about her couldn't possibly be true if they would trust a total stranger alone in such a lovely place.

Maybe she didn't have to... rush back home. Charle had mentioned a ball? That could be fun. Lucy blamed the blush blossoming on her cheeks on the water's heat while commenting, "So long as it isn't something like what that crazy hatter does, snatching a girl out of her seat before she even gets a bite of cake."

The complaints she voiced hardly sounded real to her, so she settled back and dipped her hair into the water. Soon enough she began to clean herself with rose scented soaps. Once the ball was over, she'd hunt down that crazy wanna-be rabbit and force him to fly her right back out of that rabbit hole if need be. A thought occurred then, causing a pause while conditioning silky, golden hair. Should she really leave before thanking the three at that tea party for their hospitality? An eyebrow twitched, "Yes of course I can! After all, they had me sleeping on the ground just because they didn't want to disturb a mouse. _A mouse!"_

But as she began to dip herself back into the warm water, her skin grew goosebumps at the thought of the Mad Hatter. He'd been so infuriating, yet so enchanting... maybe she really should find them before leaving. "Just to let them know I'm fine, of course."

"My my, but the girl talks to herself a lot." Came a voice from out of no where.

Lucy sat up straight, immediately covering her chest with her arms. She didn't see anyone, and the voice was definitely different from the Cheshire Cat. Exactly how many others around here could turn invisible at will? "Who's there? You better not be some kinda pervert!" Thank goodness the voice had sounded feminine at least.

"Not at all." A head of blue hair suddenly materialized out of the water directly—their faces only a handspan apart. The rest of the woman's body materialized soon afterwards, almost as if it'd become solidified from the water. Her expression remained indifferent as she hovered over her on all fours, staring Lucy right in the eyes—essentially crawling on top of her. "Hmm. This girl has an odd sort of aura around her. Juvia wonders if she knows it or not."

Lucy began to inch away, but the other woman followed her. The motion pressed their breasts together and the summoner could no longer blame her blush on the heat. "Ahhh, what are you doing?!"

"It appeared that the lady was done with her bath, and might need someone to talk with." The woman's voice did not sound as if talking interested her much.

"Yea well... I don't!" Lucy's voice was a pitch too high as she scrambled out of the bath reaching for the towel someone must have placed on the bag that had been given to her. Exactly how many people had come and gone from here while she'd been in the nude? Wrapping the soft fabric about her now clean (and cold) body, she tried to remain polite and snatch up her bag all at once. "The bath was lovely, but err, I'm gonna go now."

"Very well," The woman sighed, leaning her head and arms against the bath's rim, looking up at her through cat-like eyes. "Save a dance for me."

Lucy hurried out of the bath in a near panic. What was _with_ this place? Has no one any respect for personal boundaries? Now in a hallway, the blonde groaned. She was dripping wet, and had no idea how to get back to the room.

No way to go but forward right? Lucy slung her pack onto her back and began wandering the halls, peeking down every hallway first, for a lady should not be seen in nothing but a towel.

 _Sneak  
_ _Sneak  
_ _Sneak_

These halls all looked the same! Three rooms to the right, two on the left. Which one was hers? Was she even close yet? One of the possible horrible scenarios drifting through her mind came to fruition when she heard a door creak open from behind. _Crap...! There's no where to hide! What do I do? I can't just—_

"Well lookie here boys. Looks like cards need baths from time to time too."

Whoever these guys were behind her... the speaker sounded like someone who meant trouble. Lucy was wishing like hell that she'd chosen a different hallway.

"Very true, Laxus-sama. I believe that means the next round is on Bickslow." That voice sounded kind, but perhaps a touch on the snobbish side.

"Aww man! Well, guess I better see if the queenie will lemme pull a double shift tonight. Man I really wanted to check out that party too." This other man's voice was echoed by child-like voices... if only she could slink away.

"Hey," came the first voice again, making Lucy yelp when a large hand landed on her bare shoulder. "It's the middle of the day. There better be a good reason you're outta uniform."

The summoner turned her head to peer over her shoulder at them in twitch mode. The man touching her was large, blonde, with a scar going down his right eye, and the two other men with him were frowning at her much like him. At least they were before all three jumped at the sight of her face.

"Woah man!" Exclaimed the guy with tiny masks floating about him, repeating him much like one of her spirits would do when being silly. "That card's gotta face!" He wore a helmet over his eyes like a mask too. She couldn't tell if he could see through it or not.

"Don't be stupid. Cards don't have faces," frowned the man accosting her.

The other man, with unique, long, green hair, pulled out his rapier quicker than a flash and pointed it right at Lucy's neck, making her squeak. Through narrowed eyes, the man spoke lowly, no longer sounding so kind. "An intruder? State your business!"

"Oh man..." Lucy gulped. She begrudged that there really were worse things than being caught in the nude.

"Calm down Freed." The blonde murmured over rolled eyes, "if she's an intruder then she's got to be as crazy at those Inbetweeners."

"Yea man," said the guy with the helmet and reliable echo. "Thieves don't just sneak in places to take baths."

Lucy clung to her towel and contemplated whether her summoning keys were in her bag or not when the blonde man swatted Freed's sword away before angling her chin to look at him. He had dark orange eyes and the look of a man who had seen more than his fair share of battles. "This must be the stowaway that White Rabbit brought with him today. You lost little girl?"

"Erk! Little girl?!" She gagged out, from embarrassed to outraged. Yes, her emotions were bouncing around everywhere since coming to this strange land.

"Heh," chuckled the man next to Freed, who was now sheathing his sword, "she ain't so little from where I'm standin." Then those floating perverts hovering around him had the audacity to say, "Big boobs! Big boobs!"

Lucy gasped, then scoffed, hugging herself closely, trying to cover as much as possible. "How dare you!" Apparently this rude character _could_ see from under that helmet, and see too well for that matter.

"Heheh, relax girl. You're actually pretty lucky you ran into us. No one knows this castle better than me. Come on, I'll take you back to your room." The blonde put a hand around her shoulder and led her back the way she came. ... _Figures._

"But... Laxus-sama!" Called out the man with the sword.

Laxus cut him off, still speaking with Lucy. "There are some pretty great perks with being the girlfriend of the Chessmaster you know."

A sweatdrop formed on Lucy's brow, "Chess, Chessmaster?"

"Yup." the helmeted man trailing behind them said. "You're talkin' to the one and only Captain of the Guard, Knight of Hearts, Chessmaster Laxas Dreyer."

"You should be honored," Freed sniffed.

It took far too long to reach the room Charle had flown her out of in Lucy's opinion. This guy's pompous attitude was creeping her out. "Here we are, Good-lookin." They stopped before a door that looked like all the others. It creaked as he opened it for her and he shook his head at the small interior and tiny balcony. "If ya were my girl, I'd see ya got a better room too."

"Um... yes well... this is all very temporary, Sir." Lucy rolled her shoulder to make him let go and walked into the room.

He smirked down at her as she started to swing the door closed, catching it with his foot, "Save a dance for me."

Lucy deadpanned, "Please move your foot, Sir."

^.^

What had the queen been _thinking_ with this dress? Lucy examined herself in the mirror, feeling a draft from the low v-neck while piling her hair on top of her head. The dress flowed down to her feet, where it sparkled orange, and faded into a pale, satin yellow as the eye lifted to her sleeveless shoulders. At least Mirajane had included a small beaded belt that could be slung around her hips. Maybe she knew a thing or two about summoners. Once her hair was satisfactory, she pulled on the white heels and above the elbow gloves provided and gave herself a long look.

 _It does look formal. Just for a ball... Man, who knew I could rock a look like this!_

She playfully winked at the mirror when a knock lightly tapped on the door. "Miss Heartfilia? The queen is ready for you now."

Curious as to how they knew her name, she stepped over and opened the door, ready for anything.

...Except this.

The man waiting for her was extremely handsome—and shirtless. Sure he wore a well-scrolled red jacket of what she could only assume was a uniform, but her eyes were involuntarily drawn to the chiseled abs and lean torso. After he looked her up and down, he nodded to himself and bowed politely. "Gray Fullbuster, Knight of Diamonds, Queen's guard, at your service."

Oh! Well wasn't he polite! ...For a man with no shirt. Lucy pressed her lips together before remembering formalities. "Lu—Lucy Heartfilia, Celestial Spirit mage."

Gray righted himself and raised a brow while offering his arm. "Spirit mage huh? Don't think we've ever come across one of your kind before. Criminal to have hid yourself all this time."

Lucy took his arm and blushed slightly, wondering if that had been a compliment. "Yes well... things here in the Kingdom of Hearts is certainly different than I imagined."

They started walking down the hall as the Knight of Diamonds continued, "Oh yea? I take it you're more acquainted with the rebel Whites then?"

"Uhh..." Would she be in trouble if she answered that?

The hall opened into a large room of crimson tiles and long golden drapes. To their right is where he led them, to enormous double glass doors, stained intricately with large roses. He stopped their progress and waited for two guards to open them. Lucy bit her tongue, trying not to squeal after getting a good look these guards. At first glance, they appeared to be people dressed up in a costume replicating various cards in a deck, but... the people themselves... they had no face. In fact, they looked almost exactly like the silhouettes that had joined the Mad Hatter's party. She hadn't noticed the tightened grip on Gray's arm until he placed a hand over hers. "Don't worry about them. They are here for the Queen's protection," then he flashed her a soft smile. "And yours, of course, Miss Heartfilia."

The soldier's deep blue eyes actually managed to calm her nerves. This man had a cool demeanor that she found refreshing after dealing with so many oddities with no end in sight. She relaxed her grip and took a deep breath as the sun bathed her in its glory while the doors were pulled open. With the decorative glass out of the way, the opening revealed a stunning rose garden. Every flower looked to have been meticulously crafted, not simply grown. "Oh man... it's so beautiful!"

Releasing Gray, the summoner pulled up her skirts to do some exploring of her own. The Knight of Diamonds followed behind her, smiling to himself as he watched her appreciate the beauty his queen coveted. However, it didn't take long before two voices could be heard, slowing her step. One of the voices were low and gruff, and unmistakably Gajeel Redfox.

"We ain't doin' it for less than triple what you been payin' us. Don't matter if the party you're throwing is prestigious, traditional, whatever. By bein' here, we ain't there, so we get paid extra."

Gray promptly caught up with her and took her arm, leading her around a topiary that must have been grown for the sake of privacy just for meetings such as the one she could overhear—not that she intended to listen in, although if the man pulling her had allowed, she certainly would have dragged her feet a little...

The hedge opened up into a room-sized circle of well trimmed grass, with many furnishings that made the area look more like an office than a garden. No, that wasn't it. The clearing looked more like the perfect melding of garden and office. All the furniture was iron, sculpted to resemble lace, and two people sat at the only table in the 'room' with drinks and cookies in front of them. One was the March Hare, and the other was another woman, as beautiful as the White Queen. With long crimson hair hanging down elegantly behind her chair, she was taking a long sip of her drink before responding to her visitor. The Victorian style dress she wore was a mixture of dark reds and darker reds cut to fit her with perfection. With hems adorned in golden scroll work and necklace and earrings in the shape of hearts, there could be no mistaking why this woman held such a commanding aura. As she set her wine glass down, lurid brown eyes, much darker than her own centered on Lucy.

Gray began to formally announce their arrival, but the Red Queen spoke over him, "Ahh, this must be the Juicy Hatter was hunting our White Rabbit for." A curve grew to those lips that did nothing to put Lucy at ease as she continued. "That'll be all for now, Gray."

Lucy's escort bowed obediently and turned to leave, but not before landing his cool gaze back on the summoner. The gentleman looked very debonair as he also gave her a small bow, smoothly taking her gloved hand and kissing it. "Save a dance for me."

Right in front of the queen? Lucy watched him exit in a mixed state of mortification, exasperation and a touch of flattery until the March Hare cleared his throat, loudly.

Fortunately, the queen did not seem to care for her servant's bravado and skipped over more formal introductions. "Your arrival has caused quite the uproar, young lady. We certainly hope you can follow through with all these delicious surprises you are feeding us this afternoon. We wouldn't want your company to grow stale."

* * *

 _ **save a dance for me**_

 _ **Seriphia  
**_ _ **aka  
**_ _ **Lick**_

 ***~.❤** **.~***


	5. Chapter 5

**Rated M  
** **M is for MATURE, people.  
** **If I can pretend to be, then you can too!**

 **DISCLAIMER : I OWN NOTHING! *sob* However sometimes I wonder if Mashima-sama used to follow me and my friends around to help him dream up a few of his characters!**

 **At least let a girl dream!**

 **T.T  
I MISSED YOU GUYS!  
** **T.T**

* * *

Uncharted Skies

If there is anything truly reliable in this or any world, it is that Time is fickle. Just when one thinks that Time might be on their side is right about the moment Time slips right through slippery fingers. So let's take a hand to the minute hand and push it forward several ticks and more than a few tocks. After all, learning why our beloved Mad Hatter did not make it to his appointment might be much more entertaining than whatever may or may not have occurred when the human girl was invited to sit with the Lady in Red and the March Hare.

 _Tick, tock.  
_ _Tick, tock._

There was something very satisfying about how the red queen had commissioned an entire dungeon just for the likes of Natsu and his brethren. Now _that_ was a woman ready for just about anything; he had to give credit where credit was due. Whenever he thought she'd zig, she'd zag.

So he swung, content as a mouse napping in a sugar bowl, in his custom made cell that dangled from the high ceiling. Nope. No dark, dank prison cell in some basement for him. Exactly how much trouble had the queen gone through to make this spherical birdcage completely out of dragonsteel anyway?

So nice to know his awesomeness did not go underestimated.

Just as the Hatter was contemplating the difficulties of drinking tea upside down, his ear twitched at the sound of his comrade's familiar gait entering through the corridor. The March Hare leaned against the cool brick wall, a fair distance from Natsu's pendulum of a cage and murmured knowingly, "Damn Salamander. You really know your way around royal types. Guess rampaging into the castle with flaming fists is one way to get the Reds to stop thinkin' 'bout how they got hit yesterday." Then Gajeel grunted in humor, "least they didn't have time to suspect us since you got thrown in here fer sumthin' completely different."

"Gave me some time to tinker with my clock." Natsu replied merrily, patting the broken pocket watch residing in his pocket.

With a harrumph, the March Hare said, "They'll letcha outta there when it's time for our next gig."

"Oh yea?" Natsu raised a brow with a half-cocked grin, "what's the job this time? Salting the Whites' tea? Dying her dresses?"

"Yer gonna love this, geheh." Gajeel looked up at the dragon, "We ain't even hittin'em. We just playin' bouncers."

Natsu's groan echoed throughout the entire dungeon. "You mean we gotta stay here _all night?_ "

"I dun wanna hear that outta you. It pays triple and at least ure plus one'll be around-" the pierced bunny stifled a guffaw, "Even if she's someone else's date."

The Hatter's whining stopped instantly, and he was gripping the edge of his bars, nearly squeezing his face between them to glare at his companion, "Someone else's?! SOMEONE ELSE'S?!" Flames lit up his dangling cage.

And, simply because he could, Gajeel added, "Oh! You oughta know... that Knight of Ice or whatever was putting some serious moves on'er too."

"FROSTED FLAKES IS WITH MY JUICY!?"

"Geheh, don't fret kid. A little competition will do ya good."

Gajeel stopped leaning and turned to make his exit to the sound of a hatter's possessive, mad ravings, mildly wondering if he was going to be stuck soloing this gig while his partner got to sit and lounge about. What a chump. No way was the queen going to let Salamander out for that sweet triple pay if he didn't turn down the heat.

Best he get it all out of his system now. The March Hare was such a good friend.

^.^

Sooooooooo yeah. Apparently Queen Erza had seen to it that Lucy was to be her mysterious, exotic arm piece for the evening. How does one turn down a queen? Especially one who gets a deadly twinkle in her eye when Lucy began to display even the slightest affront to not even being asked. Clearly this was a woman who expected to be obeyed.

Unwilling to receive the sharper end of this woman's wrath, Lucy thought it better to remain by her side and listen and learn. The people here in the Kingdom of Hearts ( **OOC: Yes I said it, and am aware of the amazing video games. ;)*swoons over Cloud*** ) seemed to have a general consensus. The Inbetweeners were rapscallions and not a far cry from plundering pirates, and the citizens that resided in White Country were traitors that would have an intimate meeting with the headsman in due time. Lucy couldn't quite wrap her head around why though. The people here seemed happy enough. Sure, she was mostly stuck in a sea of aristocrats currently, but their oddities didn't really seem too different from the few people she'd met across the border. As the dull conversations between queen and countrymen continued, the star maiden began to wish she could have grown to be more like her mother. She had had a real knack for entertaining guests.

When the ball was officially underway, the queen seated Lucy next to the crimson, cushioned chair to the right of her throne as the blue cat (everyone seemed to call him the White Rabbit, despite all the blue fur) announced the beginning of summer. He then proclaimed a toast to the long reign of their beloved queen. Everyone cheered and drank as elegant music filled the giant ballroom.

Lucy stared out into the crowd. It was odd that nearly everyone here chose to dress in hues of red or black. At the parties back home that her father would make her go to, people seemed to dress in a multitude of different colors. It had always reminded her of a peacock flaunting their feathers. Much to her dismay though, observations in anthropology were cut short when slender fingers took hers, and Lucy almost jumped at the sight of the queen beckoning her to join her on the empty dance floor. "Come now, Miss Heartfilia," her voice was inviting, yet commanding. "Our subjects cannot dance until we do."

"Oh! Umm, yes, of course, your liege." Lucy stuttered out, rising as gracefully as possible with a sudden awkwardness weighing down her feet. _Our subjects?!_ She could feel all eyes on her and it made her skin crawl as the queen led her to the middle of an ornately tiled rose floor and positioned herself to lead their dance. The spirit summoner blushed when the queen winked at her, but then felt surprisingly put at ease as the queen whispered conspiratorially, "You can call us Erza when it's just the two of us. No need to be frightened. If anyone dares laugh at our lovely date..." Lucy's motions became jerky again for a brief moment when a shadow passed Erza's eyes, "heads will roll."

The two of them danced for the better part of an hour, and Lucy was surprised to learn that the queen was actually rather pleasant when not addressing subordinates or subjects. Exactly how cold of an exterior did she think she needed around most people? And why has she warmed up to a complete stranger so suddenly? The blonde found herself beginning to enjoy the queen's camaraderie when a faceless scribe came to whisper something lowly in her ear. How in the world did those guys talk? With a smile fading from genuine to forced, Erza turned back to Lucy, giving her hands an affectionate squeeze. "Look at us... hogging you all to ourselves. You must be parched! Please, help yourself to some refreshments, we will return as soon as we are able."

"Umm... ok." Lucy tried not to frown with concern. A part of her wanted to help this newfound and rather unexpected friend, but did not want to invite herself to tag along. Ezra nodded to her imperially and glided from the dance floor, patrons parting for her.

Suddenly stag, it was a touch more complicated for Lucy to elbow her way through the dancers. Everyone seemed to crowd around her while seeming to be oblivious to her actions. One woman in spectacles nearly even headbutted her as she chuckled at her partner when he dipped her. It felt as though she had to swim out of the crowd to a blissful breeze that ultimately had her stumbling onto a pearly, marbled balcony. She leaned against the rail and gulped in the fresh air, wondering if anyone had ever had a more difficult time doing something as simple as getting off a dance floor.

...When had the sun gone down?

Lucy gazed up into the night sky, and for the first time realized these were not the stars she had studied since infancy. A moment of dread filled her as it suddenly occurred to her that she might not even be able to call her beloved spirits to her aid—should she need them. A thought that was almost solidified at the thought of Loki not being here to complement her on her dress. That wasn't like him.

Her thoughts consumed her so completely, that the sudden voice beside her nearly had the girl tumbling off the balcony. "I thought you might be thirsty, but I didn't think you'd be green."

Quickly rounding on the intruder, Lucy sighed in relief to see that it was the handsome Knight of Diamonds who had delivered her to the queen earlier. "Sir Fullbuster. Apologies... I was just getting some air."

"I see that." Gray's smile was rather charming as he offered her a wine glass, "you looked concerned. Did the queen upset you?"

"Oh! No no!" Lucy quickly corrected, "my mind was drifting, is all."

"Hmm." The knight raised a brow, but didn't press the issue. Instead he raised his glass in her direction and took a sip as she did the same. How did it taste like roses and not be straight up disgusting? The divine liquid slid right down her throat and before she knew it, the glass was empty.

"Guess you were pretty thirsty." Gray chuckled.

"My darling Gray-sama!" Both Lucy and Gray turned to see the intrusive blunette from the bath earlier. She looked stunning in a knee high, sweetheart red dress trimmed in pink. Thick locks of long blue hair added quite the contrast to make her pale skin and crystal eyes shine. Her face looked sour, however, as she reached them. Promptly wrapping both her arms around one of Lucy's, she quipped, "Do not tell Juvia that her Gray-sama is trying to steal her dance partner!"

" _Your_ dance partner?" Gray rose a dark brow, looking both the women up and down. "No... Juvia. She's dancing with me next."

"I am?" A sweatdrop grew on Lucy's forehead.

"Oh Gray-sama!" Juvia looked up at him coyly, "It's sweet that Gray-sama brought refreshments but the lady is saving the next dance for Juvia."

"Ain't happening. I got here first." Gray replied, and both of them narrowed their eyes as Lucy's sweatdrop grew larger.

Juvia began to tug at the blonde's arm. "Come Miss Heartfilia. Juvia will demonstrate a dance the queen only wishes she could perform."

Chilled fingers grasped Lucy's other arm and Gray frowned, "Wait your turn, Juvia."

"Juvia saw her first!"

"That doesn't matter! She wants to dance with me."

"Oh what a twist of fate! Juvia's one true love, turned love _rival!_ "

"Huh?" Lucy found herself being pulled from the balcony by the both of them. "Maybe I should sit out this next one—"

"You're makin' a scene, Juvia. Just let go!" Gray murmured menacingly.

"Juvia will never release the Juicy! Juvia loves the Juicy!"

" _What?!"_ Lucy squeaked.

"Not my fault you fall in love at the drop of a hat! I get first dance!"

"Never! Gray-sama must let Juvia have this!"

The two of them were pulling at Lucy a touch more assertively that she liked when another person interjected, "You both got it wrong." Lucy felt like she might turn blue... she knew that pompous voice...

Both Juvia and Gray turned to glare at the Chessmaster standing behind Lucy. The spirit summoner just knew that sparks were about to start flying. _How am I gonna diffuse this? These guys are nuts!_

^.^

"DAMNIT!" Outside the main entrance to the Red Queen's soiree, Natsu paced back and forth while Gajeel leaned against a wall.

"Dun get ure panties in a twist," Gajeel harrumphed. "Party'll start dyin' down soon."

The Hatter rounded on him and pointed past the expanse entryway. "I can smell her ya know. She's a parta the gang, she should be here too. I can't believe ya just left her with Erza. ERZA!"

"Keep ure yap down!" Gajeel snapped, "nobody calls'er that anymore and you know it! Ain't no one getting' outta here if ya go and piss her off at'er own party! Jest finish the job!"

"Ain't no job worth lettin all them Reds cavortin' with my Juicy."

"Damn Hatter. What the fuck is with you? Let the dame have some fun. Queenie called dibs. Game over already."

Natsu was bouncing on the balls of his feet, "Nah, that's already taken care of. Queenie's not even in there anymore."

That got the March Hare's attention. He took a sniff, frowned, stepped into the ballroom and sniffed again. Fuck. He rounded back at Natsu, "Damnit Salamander! What you do?!"

But Natsu was already gone.

Ghosting through the crowded ballroom, the Hatter kept his hat tipped down and grabbed a turkey leg from one of several hors d'oeuvres tables. Standing there for the moment, he took generous bites as sharp eyes scanned the party goers. However, it was his ears, not his eyes, that first gave him a hint of his prey's location. His gaze leveled on his target... that damned blonde, wannabe dragon was leading a giggling Juicy over to a table to sit with his own little gang of followers. Natsu knew first hand that Laxus wasn't funny, so what the _hell_ was his Juicy laughing at? With his scarf masking half his face, he ninja'ed (Yes, ninja'ed) over to them.

So... when Laxus looked up from pulling out a chair for Lucy, Lucy wasn't there—anymore. Ninja'ed!

Quickly ducking the both of them under the cover of a table's cloth three tables down, the Hatter released his prize while hardly withholding a snicker. "Did you catch the confusion all over that guy's face? Hehe! Priceless!"

"What the _hell_ are you doing?!" Lucy demanded, running a hand through disheveled hair.

His giddiness died and blinked at her, "Saving you...?" His statement turned question when her displeased expression was noticed.

"From _what?_ " Lucy hunched back on all fours, already beginning to pass him and out of the tablecloth's confines.

"Huh?" Natsu grabbed her arm, the confusion clear on his face, "You mean to tell me you actually _liked_ being with that stuffy—"

Lucy swatted his arm away, "Get away from me! I've gotta job to do!"

"Wait a minute..." The Hatter grabbed the girl by both arms, much more fiercely, and swiveled her back around to face him. He glared at her, one nostril flaring. One moment passed of absolute silence as his eyes narrowed on her. "Where the fuck is Juicy?"

A sweatdrop loomed over Lucy's head, "Uhhh... I have no idea what you're talking about."

"You ain't her, how the hell is it that ya look like her?" Suddenly shaking her, he loud-whispered, " _Is that you Cana?!_ "

"Lemme go!" The blonde planted a solid hand print on his cheek, knocking his hat off.

Natsu released her, but growled menacingly, "What did you do to Juicy?"

The impostor grew nervous, was there... fire in his eyes? "Nuh, nothing! I'm just doing what she told me to!"

All threatening auras gone, Natsu blinked in total befuddlement. "Huh?"

"Look, piri, I gotta go. Leave me alone." She quickly ducked out from under the table, leaving Natsu to mull over what just happened. She smelled like her... but didn't. Looked JUST like her, and she said she was _ordered_ to play with... the Chessmaster... of all people? He shook his head, rattling the thought away. It didn't matter. He was looking for the real deal, not some cheap impersonation.

Lifting out from underneath the table at the squawk of some noble about to seat themselves there, he swept back up his hat, fluidly placing it back on his head and nodded at the woman. "Everything's safe down there, nothin' ta worry about." And he was off to continue his search.

Melding back into the crowd, ducking down once and again when a Knight of Spades passed by, he eventually caught sight of a flicker of golden locks, brightened by candlelight for a brief instant. Quickly following after it, Natsu gawked at the sight of Lucy dancing with both Rain Woman and Knight of Diamonds—and Lucy appeared to be enjoying it.

Casting all logic aside, he stormed up to them and grabbed Lucy by the shoulders and sniffed her deeply.

"Woah!" Yelled out Gray, "what the hell are you doing, Flamebrain?!"

The Hatter glared back at the Ice wizard and deposited yet another fake Lucy (yeah, she squealed) back into the arms of Juvia carelessly, "Security, Snowflake. Mind ure own damn business!"

The Knight of Diamonds glared right back, "Ain't nuthin goin' on here, Volcano Breath, so beat it."

Oh but Natsu wanted to punch that ice freak's face _so bad!_ Finding Lucy was more important though—by a long shot—and moved on, surprising both Gray and Juvia with his lack of followup. After all, self control was never one of the Mad Hatter's strongest suits. Where in the hell was his Juicy? Those doppelgangers were messin' with his nose.

This was not cool. Any minute now the Queen would return, and if he wasn't out of here with his treasure by then... well... waging war on a queen may not be the _worst_ thing he'd ever done, but it'd probably be in the top ten. He should have branded what was his when he'd had the chance.

With his hat tilted low, Natsu snagged an ornate chalice from the tray of a faceless servant and kept his senses alert. Too many thoughts were filling his head at once, and all of them centered around his desire for his Juicy and a sudden, looming dread of loosing his Juicy; so he drank, and drank deep. Who needed a clear mind when they had instincts like his?

^.^

Outside in the moonlight, water splashed about in a manufactured pond at the whims of bare feet. Lucy sat at the red brick rim, appreciating the water's refreshing chill as she fiddled fondly with her keys. It'd been such a relief to learn that her spirits could still reach her in this odd place. She was toying with the idea of summoning Aquarius just to chat with a familiar face, but it seemed like something the touchy spirit might be perturbed about. And getting all those rose petals that floated here in her hair might be just the thing to make Aquarius' mood much more foul.

So Lucy just sat there, soaking in the solitude and taking advantage of what might be her last chance at peace for some time to come. She knew she needed to seek out the blue cat, but it was late and Lucy was feeling groggy from drink. Or was it from pumping so much power into Gemini? She idly wondered if she should turn in for the night, but where? Back to the room that Happy had left to her? Lips took a slight downward curve as she suddenly thought of Levy. She really was a sweet little mouse... person. It was so interesting to observe how that March Hare's normally hard features softened when she was around. The thought returned her smile. What was it like to have a connection like that? In a society like hers, her father was very likely to try and marry her off shortly after graduation. Some of the boys were nice and all... but none of them screamed husband material. It was a conversation she was becoming rather skilled at dodging with her father.

Shaking the thought away, Lucy stretched and reminded herself that she was supposed to be enjoying the little slice of peace she'd grabbed for herself. The stretch had her letting out a loud sigh as she leaned back on her palms. After many losses of the amazing game of Catch the Rose Petals Between her Toes, Lucy glanced over her shoulder at the sound of slow footsteps. What she saw made her freeze, allowing another rose petal to drift away to freedom.

A collection of faceless card soldiers and servants were congregated not four meters away from her. Some were taking timid steps closer. Lucy's breath hitched, unsure of how to respond. None of them gave off that eerie sense of glee like the translucent ones Cana had invited to Natsu's gathering last night had had. What did they want with her? And why must some of them be armed with sharp blades?

Not wanting to offend, but with great desire to get away, Lucy slowly stood up, snatching her slippers with on hand. "Um..." Her voice shook, "hello there."

The figures must have taken that as an invitation because they all started to walk up to her with no more restraints. They surrounded her, some playing with her hair, others dusting her dress, examining her nails, and one even took her shoes and preceded to lift her foot to place them where they went. Lucy yelped as this unbalanced her and multiple hands caught her. Okay... officially creeped out now. "Umm, thanks guys! I should, uh... really be getting back to the festivities now."

One of the faceless then lifted her other foot, and she was being held above the ground. All she could see was heads bobbing all about her. Faceless heads. It became hard to breath in her panic, and speech became inaudible. What did they want with her?

"Whatchu guys doin' over there?" Lucy knew that voice, and was so relieved to hear it!

All the figures froze, turning only their heads towards the newcomer—who was gently pushing his way through them.

"Make way you guys!"  
"Hiya! Didja loose weight?"  
"Hey! Lookin' good there!"

Then a hand pushed one of the faces blocking Lucy's view to reveal the very dragon she hadn't realized she'd missed so dearly. Through a cracking voice, she cried out, "Na, Natsu!"

A wide grin greeted her in response as he relieved the nameless figures of their burden, holding Lucy in a tight hug. One that was returned gratefully. His large hand cradled the back of her head as she hid her face in his chest, squeezing tightly and trembling.

Looking all around, Natsu barked at the onlookers. "Nuthin' ta see here, go on, you had your fun," and they all began to disperse; albeit in a regretful shamble.

There the two of them stood. The Mad Hatter finally finding his peace, and the woman finding comfort in his embrace. However, Natsu was disturbed by his plus one's terrified demeanor. So once his warmth ended her shivers, he gently tilted her chin up to gaze into his eyes. Eyes as golden as the setting sun, an eternal inferno.

Lucy began to sputter out something, for women were supposed to be well spoken, but stopped as Natsu lowered his lips to her cheek and parted them. The blonde trembled anew as a supernaturally warm tongue snaked up her cheekbone. Natsu sighed contentedly. He'd only meant to taste the tear that had slipped down, but the salty taste of her skin sent him reeling. Self control faltering, he planted his forehead onto hers with eyes closed and spoke lowly. "Toldja I wouldn't give up treasure..."

Already pink cheeks rose in temperature. Having all senses consumed by this dragon was indescribable. Wits gone, she simply murmured, "Finders keepers, huh?"

Taking on a feral yet seductive grin, Natsu purred, "Now you're getting' it." And he leaned in to steal another kiss.

Lucy's mind all but exploded as the tiny shards rattled everywhere when his lips brushed hers. A hungry mouth prodded hers to open, but she resisted the urge to melt into the embrace—alarmed to discover that she actually wanted it. She had been raised better than that and pulled away, primly turning away to hide her embarrassment... and perhaps to cool her nerves. What was this swirling sensation in her gut?

The Mad Hatter cackled and wrapped his arms back around her from behind and spoke into her ear. "There ya go again, smelling too good for a gentleman to resist."

That warm breath against sensitive skin sent her head spinning again, and she found herself much more unwilling to pull away. Instead, Lucy attempted to change the subject. "Who were all those... people... just now?"

Raising his head, glancing at one of the faceless figures that was loitering on the opposite side of the pond, he replied. "The nobodies? Don't worry about them, totally harmless. Heard Cana talkin' with Mira about them once though, somethin' about undreamt dreams."

Lucy contemplated that, not noticing how she leaned against her rescuer. _Dreams that have yet to be dreamt._

After another precious moment of the two of them enjoying one another, Natsu asked, "You ready to go home, Juicy?"

Her eyes widened briefly, _home?_

"Pretty sure the Dormouse will be worrying if we don't get outta here soon."

"Oh..." Lucy felt an odd sense of relief. For the first time, she was unsure if home was where she wanted to be. "Yes, of course. But don't you think we should say goodbye to the queen first?"

Natsu released all but her hand with a smirk and an all too simple, "Nope!"

" _You little fucker!"_ Gajeel came stomping up to them, fast, and slammed a fist as hard as steel into the back of Natsu's head without an ounce of hesitation. The Mad Hatter's face was planted onto the ground, precariously close to the water's edge.

Lucy sweatdropped, wide eyed as she watched stars rotate around the Hatter's head.

"Hmph," The March Hare muttered, "he's lucky I don't chunk him inta that pool and let Juvia have'em."

* * *

 **I'M BACK!  
….Kinda.**

 **I tell u guys, raising a teenager is taking up just about all my free time. Honestly, can't that girl take a break on the sass already? Things have chilled out a bit lately, and I'm using this fic once again to try to regain my muse. Not sure if my next update will be on this, or Zombie Earthland, or the MUCH needed update on the Seven Deadly Sin's Love is a Battlefield. Atm I'm just sort of a slave to my mind's whims... so it wasn't surprising that my oddest story was the first to get some love.**

 **Not sure if you guys still remember me, but I remember you!**

 **MUCH LOVE TO MAH LOVELIES!**

 _ **Lick lick lick!  
**_ **Seriphia  
** **aka  
** **Lick!**

 ***~.🎃.~*  
Happy Halloween!**


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